


The Panda Princess

by AmberlyNightengale



Series: The Kylina Chronicles [2]
Category: LoliRock (Cartoon), Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Forgotten Miraculous, Frog Miraculous, Original Ephedian Kingdom(s), Original Ephedian Princess(es), panda miraculous
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:35:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 27,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23771671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmberlyNightengale/pseuds/AmberlyNightengale
Summary: Last year, Ashley Benoit, under the guise of the superheroine Kylina, helped to save Paris from the threat of Scarlet Moth. However, a greater threat is approaching-- one that involves the truth about Ashley's origins, and... princesses from another planet?!
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: The Kylina Chronicles [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1541131
Comments: 7
Kudos: 10





	1. Marinette

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, my Sugarcubes! I was originally planning on waiting a full week before posting this sequel, but if you know me, you know that I am the most impatient person on the planet. This book was originally the first; The Panda Princess is how Ashley came into being. More about the origins of this story later, but please enjoy as LoliRock enters Ashley's story!

_Rring!_

_The end of another school day,_ I thought to myself as I packed up my school supplies. _So far, so good. No one’s been akumatized yet._

I was glad Hawk Moth had apparently decided to take a day off. He’d been akumatizing people almost daily lately. Seriously, didn’t he realize I had a life _outside_ of being Ladybug?

“Girl, have I got a scoop for you!” Alya said to me enthusiastically.

I rolled my eyes. “What is it this time?”

“Check this out!” Alya all but shoved her phone up my nose as she offered it to me energetically. I grabbed it and took a look at it.

The screen was covered in shades of pink and blue and orange so bright I felt like I needed sunglasses just to look at it without going blind. In the center was a photo of three girls with microphones and musical instruments. If I squinted hard enough, I could just make out the words _Chart-Topping Teen Pop Band LoliRock is coming to Paris! Get your tickets today!_

“Cool,” I said, handing the phone back to Alya, though I didn’t see why she was so excited.

“And that’s not the half of it,” Alya said. “They’ve come all the way from California to perform at the Eiffel Tower!”

“Doesn’t sound too safe,” I said. “Almost every time someone gets akumatized, somebody breaks the Eiffel Tower.” Ashley had pointed this out to me recently.

Alya laughed. “Girl, don’t you trust Ladybug _at all_? She’d never let Hawk Moth get away with ruining the biggest concert of the entire year!”

I shrugged. She had a point. “So what are you trying to tell me? Ladybug will be flying over the concert to personally greet the band? Or let me guess-- she’ll be singing backup?” Oh, god, _please_ don’t let it be singing backup…

Alya chuckled. “Of course not! I’m asking if you want to come see the show with me, silly!”

I smiled. “I appreciate the offer, Alya, but let’s be real. I _seriously_ doubt I could afford--”

Alya held up two stiff sheets of purple paper and grinned.

I gaped at the tickets she’d somehow managed to acquire, but quickly composed myself. “S-still, the concert’s going to be broadcasted live, isn’t it? I think I’d rather just stay home and watch it with my parents. I’m sure Nino would love to go with you, though.” Being in a crowded area with a bunch of cheering, screaming people was not the best situation to be in if the need to transform arose, but of course I couldn’t tell Alya that.

Alya rolled her eyes and leaned over. “Adrien will be there,” she whispered in my ear dramatically.

I froze as my eyes automatically found the love of my life. “A-A-Adrien?”

Alya smirked. “Yes. _Adrien._ His father wants him to ‘represent’ him, whatever that means. _And_ I bet Ashley could pull a few strings and trade seats with you.”

“I’d never ask her to do that,” I said, a bit offended at this suggestion. “But… you can count on me.”

Alya grinned. “Excellent.” She pocketed her phone and the tickets and slung her bag over her shoulder. “Now come on before you embarrass yourself in front of Prince Charming!”

* * *

Outside, I waved goodbye to Alya as she started walking home. “Hey, Marinette,” said a voice from behind me.

I turned around to see Ashley smiling at me. But after looking closer, I could see that her eyes looked troubled.

“What’s up, Ashley?” I asked.

After glancing around to make sure no one was listening, Ashley whispered, “My bracelet. It’s been burning all day.”

My stomach turned over. Ashley’s bracelet burned to warn her about a potential upcoming change in balance.

“Any idea--?” I began.

Ashley held up a hand to stop me. “Don’t ask. _She’s_ just about ready.”

I nodded. “When do you want to meet?”

“As soon as possible,” Ashley answered. “And bring the rest.”

My eyes widened. “That bad?”

“You can never be sure with the Oracle,” Ashley replied solemnly.

At that moment, Rose tore past us excitedly, dragging a very compliant Juleka behind her. “Come on, come on, Juleka!” she squealed. “We’re going to miss it!”

“Woah, easy there, tiger,” Ashley said, grabbing Rose’s arm to stop her from crashing into an oncoming Kim. “What’s going on?”

“The band!” Rose squeaked. “The band’s just arrived!”

Ashley looked confused. “Band? What band?”

Rose gawked at her. “ _What band?_ ” she repeated, dumbfounded. “You don’t know?” She wrestled her arm free from Ashley’s grip-- an incredible feat-- and took my friend by the arm instead. “Come with us! They’ve just gotten here! We’ll fill you in on the way!” She began to run off in the direction of the StarTrain station.

“Woah, woah, woah,” Ashley said, breaking Rose’s grip. “Timeout. What’s the deal with this band?”

“They’ve come all the way from America,” I replied before Rose could freak out. “Apparently they’re a really big deal over there.”

“Can’t be _that_ big if I’ve never heard of them,” Ashley mumbled, but I knew what she was really thinking. She was nervous about the correlation between the American band’s arrival and the disturbance in balance. Maybe _they_ were the reason that her bracelet was burning right now.

“Well,” I piped up, drawing the others’ attention to me, “even if you’ve never heard of them before, Ashley, it would still be fun to go see them get here, wouldn’t it?” _That way, you could also be sure they’re not too much of a problem,_ I added silently.

Ashley easily understood. “I guess it couldn’t hurt,” she said, “but let’s hurry. Adrien finishes fencing in an hour.”

 _Fifty-four minutes exactly,_ I corrected silently as Rose squealed delightfully and took off down the sidewalk, chattering excitedly to a somewhat bewildered Ashley. I rolled my eyes, smiling, and hurried after them.


	2. Iris

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The band arrives-- and Iris discovers some things that give her cause to be a little alarmed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Sugarcubes! I can't believe this chapter is ready for you guys so soon, it's SO much longer than most chapters I write! Not that I'm complaining; I have just as much fun writing this stuff as you guys do reading it. Enjoy!

I glanced out the train window. It was still a little disconcerting to see seaweed and ocean rather than grass and sky, but I thought I was starting to get used to it.

Auriana pressed her nose up against the glass in the row behind me. “Isn’t it just so _pretty_ out there?” she gushed.

“Quite,” Talia replied from across the aisle with a small smile.

I grinned. “I can’t believe we’re going to be singing in _Paris_! The city of love! Isn’t it just so amazingly exciting?”

“You know what _I_ can’t believe?” Auriana said, suddenly pouty. “ _I_ can’t believe Nathaniel didn’t come with us.”

“He really wanted to,” I said, jumping to my boyfriend’s defense. “He’s just really busy back home, running the cafe and all.”

“Yeah, but still,” Auriana sulked. “It would have been the perfect opportunity for him to--” She stopped suddenly, seeing that Talia was glaring daggers at her.

“For him to what?” I asked.

“Nothing,” Auriana said too quickly.

I was still really curious, but I let it go. It was _Auriana_ , after all. She’d crack eventually.

The speakers in the ceiling crackled. “Hello, ladies, this is your engineer speaking. We are about to surface, so if you would please start packing up and getting ready to go, that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for choosing StarTrain!”

I nodded at my best friends. “You heard her. Let’s go!”

It was really interesting watching the water outside lighten from an almost black color to a paler, more tropical-looking blue. I’d have to remember to bring Nate back here some other time, when he wasn’t so busy.

When the train finally hissed to a stop, I could hear the outrageous commotion outside. “Hundreds of people have turned up to see you come in, _mademoiselles_ ,” the conductor said. “They already love you.”

The train doors opened, and I was immediately bombarded with an onslaught of large posters and brightly-dressed fans, screaming for my attention. _“Iris! Iris! Iris!”_ they cheered. I simply went on straight ahead. For six years, I had been dealing with this sort of thing and knew just how to handle it.

The stairs, mercifully, were free of people.

Even more people stood screaming and waving in the street, pushing each other into the velvet rope that separated them from Talia, Auriana, and me. I smiled and waved back politely, playing to the crowd the way I always did.

“Omigosh, omigosh, omigosh,” gasped a girl with short blond hair as I neared her. I couldn’t help thinking as I looked at her that I must have looked similar during my Shanila phase. “You’re Iris! I’m your biggest fan! Oh--” She cleared her throat, then held out a pen and photograph of me and my friends to me. “May I-- have your ah-- autograph?” she asked me in labored English.

“Uh-- sure!” I said, taking the pen and picture and quickly signing my name. The girl squealed with delight and turned to show her friends. One of them, a girl with long brown hair and eyes of the same color, stared at me so intently that I felt she could be seeing right through me. As I noticed her, though, she turned away so smoothly that for a moment I thought I might have been imagining her glare.

“Some of the locals here sure are _weird_ ,” I muttered out of the corner of my mouth to Talia.

“Hmm?” Talia said distractedly, barely glancing up from the album cover that she was signing.

I sighed. “Never mind.”

“Whee!” Auriana squealed as she tossed little orange baubles into the crowd’s adoring hands. “This is so much fun!”

I rolled my eyes with a smile. In six years, she hadn’t changed.

* * *

We pulled up at the Grand Paris to a new kind of adoring crowd: the news crew.

One woman with short, stylish purple hair ran up to us almost the instant we stepped out of the limo. “I’m Nadja Chamack” was all I could manage to mentally translate, because then she started rapidly firing off questions for us in French, too fast for me to understand. She paused after a minute, looking at me expectantly. I shrugged and gave her an apologetic look.

Talia came to my rescue. She began answering the purple-haired woman’s questions in French, speaking slowly enough for me to translate her responses.

After a few minutes of this, however, a large man with a sash bearing the colors of the French flag pushed through the crowd to us. “LoliRock!” he said cheerily, clasping my hand and shaking it professionally. “A pleasure to have you here, truly a pleasure!”

“Oh!” I said, a little surprised by his welcome. “Er, thank you--”

He cut me off before I could go on. “I’m Andre Bourgeois, the mayor and owner of this fine establishment,” he said in introduction, thankfully in English, as he gestured to the massive hotel. “On the behalf of all of Paris, I’d like to express our delight and honor to be hosting your visit here.”

“Oh, it’s no trouble at all, Mr. Mayor,” Auriana said.

“I agree,” I said. “We’re honored to be here.”

The mayor beamed and opened his mouth to say more, but was interrupted by a girl’s voice shouting “Move!” and “Out of my way!” and a few other phrases I hadn’t learned and wasn’t sure I wanted to. At last, the screamer appeared.

She was a girl of about sixteen, with designer clothes and blond hair pulled back into a high ponytail. Her blue eyes were narrowed in frustration, and her nose was wrinkled as though there was a stinky sock underneath it. Just from looking at her, I could tell she was a snob.

“Ugh, I don’t _believe_ this,” the girl said. “The most prestigious guests this hotel has hosted in its entire existence arrive, and no one thinks to alert _moi_ to their presence? Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!” She tossed her hair, then held out her hand imperiously to us like a medieval princess expecting a kiss from her subjects. I reached out to shake it, but she pulled away at the last second. “I’m Chloe Bourgeois. You know, the _mayor’s_ daughter? I’m sure you’d _love_ to know _everything_ about me, but I’d prefer to speak in private, away from all of these-- ugh-- _commoners_. Right this way, please.” She turned on her heel and strutted regally into the hotel. I glanced at the mayor, who nodded and gestured for me to go ahead.

The lobby of the hotel was enormous and-- fit to the name-- _very_ grand. There was expensive-looking velvet furniture everywhere, with marble columns like something out of a history book, and tall vases of flowers around every corner. There was a huge staircase just ahead, leading to who-knew-how many other floors.

The blond girl, Chloe Bourgeois, was tapping her fingers on the marble check-in desk impatiently. “Oh, _there_ you are,” she said as we entered. “I’ll admit, I was a tad bit offended at first when I realized you weren’t prancing behind me at once, but I suppose I’ll have to cut you some slack. Americans _do_ have different customs, no?” She stood up and grabbed a scandalized Talia by the arm, trying to tug her toward some velvet couches off to the left. “Now _come on_ , let’s get talking already!”

“Chloe, darling, let’s not be too hasty,” the mayor said reasonably. “Shouldn’t we let our guests get themselves situated first?”

“Well-- I suppose so,” Chloe Bourgeois said reluctantly as a pair of bellhops entered, struggling to balance all our luggage in two enormous piles.

“Oh!” I exclaimed, hurrying forward to catch a beaded duffel bag as it toppled off one of the piles. “Here, let me help you with that.”

“There’s really no need…” the mayor said as the bellhop I’d just helped smiled gratefully.

“It’s fine,” Talia said, shaking the mayor’s daughter off her arm so she could take a few bags from the piles. “We’re used to carrying our own things.”

“ _Seriously?_ ” Chloe Bourgeois said disbelievingly. “Just let the servants do their job and _come on_ already!”

I frowned. I wasn’t sure just how much I liked this Chloe Bourgeois girl. She reminded me too much of Missy Robbins, the mean girl back home.

“Chloe, precious,” the mayor said, looking distressed, “why don’t you show our guests to their suite? You can talk to them all you want up there.”

“Okay, Daddy,” Chloe Bourgeois said. She seized Auriana by the arm. “Well, come on, then! Your master suite’s upstairs.”

* * *

“ _Wow,_ ” I breathed as Chloe Bourgeois opened the door.

The amount of the suite that I could see was larger than the stage we used to perform on at the beach back home, and there was still more. Grandiose furniture adorned the floor space, and an enormous crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling made the room reminiscent of my first home.

“Eh,” Chloe Bourgeois said dismissively. “It’s alright, I suppose. But it’s nothing compared to _my_ room.”

“Whee!” Auriana squealed, face-planting into one of the king-sized mattresses with a euphoric giggle.

“It’s very nice, thank you,” Talia said politely.

“You’re very welcome,” said Chloe Bourgeois. She sat down on a velvet chair near the door, crossing her legs as though posing for a television interview. “Now, where should we begin?”

“Begin what?” I asked.

“Well, _obviously_ you won’t want to pass up the opportunity to talk to _me_ , celebrity to celebrity. I _do_ know everything there is to know about Ladybug, me being Queen Bee and all.”

“Queen Bee? Ladybug?” Talia repeated. “I didn’t know Parisians liked insects so much.”

Chloe Bourgeois looked scandalized. “Queen Bee and Ladybug are not _insects_!” she gasped. “Don’t you know about Paris’s greatest superheroes?”

“Superheroes?” I said.

“Of course!” Chloe Bourgeois cried. “ _I_ just happen to be Queen Bee, Ladybug’s greatest partner!”

“You don’t sound too great to _me_ ,” Talia said, arching an eyebrow at her. “Aren’t superheroes supposed to keep their identities _secret_?”

Chloe Bourgeois’s face reddened. “Well-- all right, I _did_ make a mistake once, but that doesn’t matter! I’m an _astounding_ superheroine, even without my Miraculous! I doubt Ladybug could have saved Daddykins-- er, the mayor without me!”

“What’s-- miraculous-- about-- that?” Auriana asked, her speech rocky from bouncing on the bed.

“Wow, you really _are_ clueless, aren’t you?” Chloe Bourgeois said, rolling her eyes. “The _Miraculous_? The magic jewels that give the superheroes their powers? Ugh, never mind.”

I caught Talia’s eye, startled. At that moment, however, the door opened, and half a dozen people in red and gold uniforms rolled in our luggage.

“Well, thank you so much for that,” Talia said loudly, getting to her feet, “but we’d best be getting settled now. Would you mind giving us a little privacy? We’d appreciate it.”

Chloe Bourgeois looked appalled at Talia’s request. “Ex _cuse_ me?” she said. “Are you trying to _dismiss_ me? Only _I_ dismiss me!”

I considered telling the spoiled blonde that this was one of the _nicest_ ways Talia asked people to leave her alone, but just then, one of the uniformed men yelped. A purple pet carrier fell to the ground and sprang open, and Amaru tumbled out. “Amaru?” he said, rubbing his head in confusion, then spotted Auriana on the bed. “Amaru!” He bounded toward the bed and launched himself into Auriana.

“ _Ugh!_ ” Chloe Bourgeois said, skittering away from Amaru with a repulsed expression on her face. “What _is_ that thing?”

“Oh, Amaru?” Auriana said brightly, sitting down on the bed so she could sit our pet in her lap. “He’s--”

“He’s our cat,” I said quickly. To be honest, I _still_ didn’t know exactly what he was, but we couldn’t have Auriana slipping up and explaining that he was a magical creature from Ephedia. “It’s okay if we have him here, right? I promise he won’t bother anybody.”

“Eurgh…” Chloe Bourgeois said, eyeing Amaru with a look of utter disgust on her face. “No… it’s fine… _ahem._ ” She cleared her throat and tried to train her features into a mask of nonchalance, though I noticed that she kept one eye fixed on the purple creature. “We don’t have a very strict pet policy; one of our guests downstairs keeps a _crocodile_ in his room. Just-- er-- make sure it doesn’t run around all over the place.” She scooted toward the door, looking desperate to get as far away from Amaru as possible. “And remember, I’m here to answer all of your questions about Ladybug!” she called as the door slammed shut behind her, leaving me and my friends alone at last.

I turned toward Talia urgently. “ _Please_ tell me you heard that, too.”

Talia nodded.

“Do you think maybe--?”

“We’re the only Ephedian princesses on Earth, as far as I know,” Talia said before I could finish.

“But then--”

“Not now,” Talia interrupted me. “Someone might overhear us. We’ll discuss it later.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh, I loved writing Chloe's stuff SO MUCH!! I tried to write the most stuck-up, bratty things known to man, and almost cracked up because I could actually HEAR Chloe's voice in my head saying this stuff! In her words, it was utterly ridiculous. Her reaction to Amaru was the most fun because I just can't see Chloe being an animal person. Her main concern would be keeping any sort of pet as far away from her as possible so it wouldn't mess up her outfit. XD (BTW, does ANYBODY know what Amaru really is?)  
> This book is one of the most interesting for me because I can actually hear ALL of the character's voices doing the dialogue I write for them. That's not something very common for my books, even with books like The Panda, where a lot of the dialogue is actually said by the canon characters. Maybe it's a sign that this is something that might actually happen in the show! (I wish.)  
> Thank you so much for reading! Have fun and stay safe!


	3. Ashley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> LoliRock arrives in Paris-- through Ashley's eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, guys! Sorry about how short this chapter is, but I needed this part to be from Ashley's perspective, and I couldn't combine this part into the next chapter because... well, you'll see. Enjoy!

It’s not that I was claustrophobic. I actually  _ liked _ tight spaces. It’s the human contact I’m not a big fan of.

I cringed as a screaming girl decked from head to toe in bright orange shoved me into the velvet rope that was only barely holding the crowd back from the path out of the station. Seriously, did we  _ have _ to be right at the front?

“I can’t wait, I can’t wait!” Rose squealed. “I’m going to ask for their autograph! Oh--” She paused. “Do you think they know French?”

“I can teach you the phrase if you want,” I said, deciding that the least I could do was support my friend.

“You’d do that for me?” Rose said, positively melting. “You’re the best, Ashley!”

I went over the words with her a few times while we waited. Then screaming erupted over by the entrance to the StarTrain station. “They’re here!” Rose shrieked.

As the band approached, I tried to get a look at them, but with the wildly shaking posters in front of my face I only caught glimpses of brown, blond, and auburn hair. The natural colors should have brought me relief. That meant they  _ couldn’t _ be the girls from my dream, right?

I wasn’t sure.

I stood there in silence as Rose squealed like a rabid guinea pig in my ear, hunched over in discomfort. I  _ hated _ that  _ She _ always made me feel like a kid who’d eaten too much candy on Halloween night. I fought back the urge to groan from the pain, praying that we could get this over with soon. Finally, the band passed in front of us.

“Omigosh, omigosh, omigosh,” Rose gasped excitedly, staring at the blonde in complete adoration. “You’re Iris! I’m your biggest fan! Oh, wait--” She hastily repeated the words we had been practicing under her breath, then offered the blonde her photo and favorite unicorn-sparkle pen. “May I-- have your ah-- autograph?”

I didn’t have the focus to compliment her accuracy. I was too concentrated on keeping the Oracle from bursting out as I stared at the blond girl.

“It’s them,” I whispered to Marinette after the band-- and the pain-- had passed.

Marinette started. “Are you sure?”

“Positive,” I replied through clenched teeth. “The Oracle’s  _ killing _ me right now. And-- something about them seems familiar… And I’d never even heard of ‘LoliRock’ until fifteen minutes ago, so it’s not that,” I added as Marinette opened her mouth.

Marinette nodded, her expression solemn. “Tell me when you want to meet.”

“Can you do three hours?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know what you're all thinking: "Who's She? What's the Oracle? Why doesn't Ashley like human contact?"  
> I promise all of those questions will be answered in the next chapter. Where's drama without a little mystery, am I right?  
> As for Ashley's dislike of human contact... She doesn't mind it when she really knows the people and there aren't too many of them. Like, she's okay with group hugs. Screaming crowds, on the other hand... well, no one's really comfortable in that kind of situation (unless you're just exceptionally strange), but Ashley reserves a special hatred for this kind of thing. NO TOUCHIE!!!!!  
> Thank you so much for reading! Have fun and stay safe!


	4. Ladybug

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The heroes consult the Oracle, but are left with more questions than answers. However, an unexpected chase may provide them with more information.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Sugarcubes! This chapter is SO LONG, so I hope you enjoy, or else all my hard work has gone to waste.

I couldn’t remember the last time we’d all gotten together like this. Probably not since Heroes’ Day last year.

That was the day Kylina had become part of the team. That girl always seemed to be around right when she was needed.

Rena Rouge, Carapace, and Queen Bee all waited with me on the roof of the Grand Paris. I’d tried to call Cat Noir several times in the past minutes, but he wasn’t picking up. I hoped Kylina would be able to contact him with more success than I had.

And then there they were. Cat Noir and Kylina, leaping across rooftops toward me and the others, silhouetted by the setting sun, early in its course to the horizon. They were moving somewhat slowly, and it looked like Cat Noir was trying to support the majority of Kylina’s weight.

By the time they reached us, Cat Noir was all but propping Kylina up on her feet. He looked surprised as he noticed the three surplus heroes with me. “You never said it was _this_ serious, Ky,” he said, gently adjusting her position to make her more comfortable.

“She’s getting stronger,” Kylina panted, her face dangerously pale. “She’s fighting to get out. I can’t contain Her for much longer.”

“Who are you talking--?” Rena Rouge began, but Cat Noir cut her off with a harsh _“Shh!”_

“You have to be careful what questions you ask now,” I said.

“She’s right,” Kylina gasped. She looked at me, and something in her eyes made me feel sorry and afraid for her at the same time. “Ladybug. Ask the question. Do it now.”

I took a deep breath, knowing what was coming. “Who is the threat?”

Kylina shuddered, and her body went limp. Cat Noir just barely caught her before her head cracked on the concrete rooftop. He carefully lifted her up so that her feet were touching the ground and supported her shoulders.

_“Ah.”_

Kylina took her own weight upon herself and slowly opened her eyes, which were glowing pure white. Rena Rouge gasped, Carapace staggered back, and Queen Bee released a quiet shriek of horror. Only then did I remember that I had never thought to tell them about the Oracle.

 _“They have brought her here,”_ Kylina rasped in a voice that was not her own. _“They have brought her here and now we are all in grave danger._

_“I see her, shouting at a young man. She calls him a fool, and he begins to retaliate before she reminds him that she was born first._

_“But beneath the irritation, there is… love. He is the only person in the world who means anything to her. He is her everything, the only thing that matters._

_“But now he is gone, with no hope of returning, and she seeks revenge on them for taking him from her.”_

All was silent as the Oracle paused. Then Rena Rouge said quietly, “But who is _she_?”

I held up my hand to stop her, but it was too late. The Oracle shivered, then went limp in Cat Noir’s arms. She was still for a moment. Then she groaned and slowly raised a hand to her forehead, as though she had a headache.

“What was _that_?” Carapace exclaimed, shocked.

“The Oracle,” I replied. “An additional power of Kylina’s. When something big is about to happen, She can answer any one question. But if you ask a question in the middle, the Oracle leaves.”

“It might not have been the middle,” Kylina cut in suddenly. Her voice had returned to normal. “I can’t be freed from the Oracle until someone asks a question.”

“It seemed like the middle,” Cat Noir said, gently nudging her into taking her own weight. “It sounded unfinished.”

“That’s the way She works,” Kylina said, pinching the bridge of her nose as though to rid herself of a nasty migraine. "She never gives you a straight answer." She opened her eyes, which had been restored to their original brown. “What did She say?”

“ _‘They have brought her here,’_ ” I recited. “Those were Her exact words.”

“And no clue as to who _they_ were?” Kylina pressed me.

I shook my head, though I was pretty sure she must already have a good idea of what it meant.

“And what about _her_?”

“She wants revenge on them,” I said. “They ‘took’ someone from her, the only person she really cared about.”

“A lover, maybe?” Rena Rouge suggested. “That could be the kind of person that would matter that much to someone. And it sounded kind of like a couple fighting, with her calling him a fool and all that.”

“But she reminded him that she was ‘born first’,” Carapace pointed out. “Sounds more like siblings to me.”

“Did She say ‘older’ or ‘born first,’ specifically?” Kylina asked.

“Born first.”

“Twins, then,” Kylina said without hesitation. “Older means dominant to siblings, and twins usually make a big deal out of who’s technically older.”

“It makes sense,” Cat Noir said. “If they had no other family, it would make sense that her twin brother would be the only person who mattered to her.”

“But what about the people who took him from her?” I wondered. “Who are _they_?”

Queen Bee pointed up at the sky, white-faced. “I think we’re about to find out.”

I looked up and immediately understood. A young woman dressed in strange crimson clothing was flying-- actually _flying_ \-- across the sky, cackling cruelly. Close behind her were three girls with brightly-colored hair and dresses, riding on the back of--

“A pegasus?” Carapace gasped.

The pegasus wasn’t the thing that really held my attention, however. I was more concerned with the dark butterflies following the first woman.

Cat Noir noticed them too. “Are those akumas?” he said, looking stunned.

“None like I’ve ever seen,” I replied. “What do you say, Kylina? Do you think-- Kylina?”

The panda superheroine was staring up at the girls riding the pegasus, awestruck. “No way,” she breathed. “After all these years…”

She suddenly turned to me, looking a mix between eager and anxious. “We have to follow them.”

“Is it them?” I asked, on full alert at once. “Who are they?”

“No time to explain!” Kylina said, her voice suddenly loud and commanding. “Quick! We mustn’t lose them!” She turned and began sprinting across the rooftops on the street after the strange girls.

“Did she just say _mustn’t_?” I muttered, bewildered. Then my instincts caught up with me, and I took off after her, my friends close behind me.

It didn’t take long for the six of us to catch up to the flying girls. Once we did, however, we encountered a whole new set of problems.

The woman in red turned herself around so she was facing the girls on the pegasus and held out her palms toward them. _“Ateruina!”_ she cried.

Scarlet circles appeared over the woman’s palms. From the lightning bolts in the centers, sharp shards of crystal so red they were almost black shot toward the other girls. The pegasus just managed to dodge them, but now the projectiles were coming straight for us.

“Duck!” I called to the others. The six of us barely got out of the way before the crystals impaled themselves in the rooftops at our feet, quivering ominously.

Kylina was starting to fall behind the pegasus, looking desperate to catch up. Not sure what else to do, I hurled my yoyo in her direction. The spotted weapon wrapped around one of the back legs of the pegasus, and I was swept off my feet into the air.

The three girls who had unwittingly provided me with a ride turned to look at me, startled. I tried for a confident smile. “You guys need any help?”

The pink-haired girl was the first to respond. “That woman is dangerous,” she said, pointing at the crimson girl. “We have to catch up to her and apprehend her.”

I gave her a quick little salute. “Already on it.”

I tugged on my yoyo string. It unwound itself from the pegasus’s ankle, and I dropped onto a nearby building. “Lucky Charm!” I said, throwing my weapon into the air.

A set of steel handcuffs fell into my hands. I quickly scanned my surroundings until I understood.

“Cat Noir!” I called, pointing at a stone column up ahead.

He being the smart kitty he was, he got it. “Cataclysm!” he shouted. Black energy enveloped his hand, and he launched himself toward the column. One brush of his fingers, and the stones came crashing down in the red woman’s path, forcing her to slow to avoid them. I took advantage of her hesitation and threw my yoyo at the same time that Queen Bee threw her spinning top. The two indestructible strings wrapped around the crimson-dressed woman and trapped her in midair.

“You did it!” said the pink-haired girl incredulously as the pegasus landed between me and Queen Bee.

I barely noticed her praise. “That’s strange,” I muttered, looking at the spotted handcuffs in my free hand. “We didn’t need these.”

I’d spoken too soon. The scarlet woman cackled. “I’ll admit, princesses, I’m impressed with the capabilities of your _friends_ ,” she sneered. “But you’ve forgotten one rather important detail.” She leered at the colorful girls and dissolved into crimson mist.

“What the--!” I gasped.

The dark-skinned girl with blue hair took one look at the handcuffs and groaned. “Of course! Steel would have negated her magic!”

Well, how was I supposed to have known that?! I sighed and threw the now-useless handcuffs into the air. “Miraculous Ladybug!” The stone column reappeared.

“Thank you for your help,” the pink-haired girl said graciously.

“I can’t believe she got away _again_!” wailed the girl in orange.

“Don’t worry,” the pink-haired girl said patiently. “We’ll find her one of these days. Just you wait.”

“You must be Ladybug,” the blue-haired girl said to me. “We’ve heard quite a lot about you since we arrived here.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Cat Noir said, swaggering up and leaning against my shoulder boldly. “She is _purr-fect_ in every way.”

“Cat Noir!” I moaned. “Is it _really_ the right time?”

“It’s _always_ the right time for you, milady,” Cat Noir said with a wink at me, unfazed.

The pink-haired girl giggled. “And that would make you Cat Noir.”

“In the flesh,” my cocky partner said, flashing his trademark grin that Ashley said made her peers in America melt. Luckily, I was unaffected by his charms.

“Who _was_ that girl?” I asked, in an attempt to change the subject.

The three brightly-dressed girls’ faces hardened. “Listen,” the blue-haired one said seriously, “if you ever rum into her again, find a way to tell us, okay? She’s nothing like you’ve ever seen before.”

“But who was she?” I repeated. “She’s in our territory. She’s our business as much as yours. Besides, my friend, Kylina--”

I paused. Where _was_ Kylina?

After taking a quick look around, I noticed her. I’d lost track of her because of how quiet she’d been. She was gaping at the strange girls silently, almost reverently. “Of course,” she murmured. “ _That’s_ why you seemed so familiar, why didn’t I see it before…?” She focused on the blue-haired girl. “You… you’re Talia, princess of Xeris.”

The blue girl looked as though she’d been run over by a truck. “What?” she gasped. “How--?”

Kylina acted as though she hadn’t spoken. She turned to the girl with orange hair. “And you-- you’re Auriana, princess of Volta.”

The orange-haired girl’s expression matched her friend’s as Kylina finally addressed the third girl, who watched her apprehensively. “And that would make you… Iris, princess of Ephedia! Or are you queen now?”

“Who are you?” demanded the blue-haired girl, the one Kylina had called Talia. “How do you know about Ephedia?”

Wordlessly, Kylina tucked her hair behind her ear to reveal a pair of white diamond earrings shaped like teardrops that I’d never noticed before.

Talia, however, seemed to recognize them. “Ro-- Rosadia?” she sputtered. “No-- it’s impossible-- Rosadia died sixteen years ago. She died with her sister!”

“She wished she had,” said Kylina.

“Talia, what’s wrong?” the pink-haired girl, Iris, said, looking concerned. “Who’s Rosadia?”

“I’ve never seen that kind of crest before,” Auriana, the orange one, said.

At the same time, Cat Noir asked, “Ky, what’s going on? Who _are_ these girls? How do you know them?”

“I’m not Rosadia,” Kylina said, oblivious, “but these _did_ belong to her.”

“How did you get them?” Talia said urgently.

Kylina didn’t answer. She just shook her head.

“I need to know!” Talia insisted, sounding like she was on the verge of going crazy. “Those shouldn’t be here, they should’ve been destroyed in the attack--”

“Not here,” Kylina said. “It’s too open. Plus, this is something my friends will need to know too, and, well, they won’t be hanging around for much longer.” She gestured at me and Cat Noir just as my earrings beeped.

“Eek! She’s right,” I said, turning away. “Bug ou--”

“No!” Kylina said loudly, looking terrified all of a sudden. She looked sheepish as she pulled me and Cat Noir aside. “Recharge as quickly as you can and meet us at the Den. You’ll want to hear this.”

“But--” Cat Noir and I started at the same time.

“No buts!” Kylina interrupted. “Hurry up. I won’t wait longer than ten minutes, and I don’t know when I’ll get another chance to talk to you guys about this.”

I didn’t feel much like arguing as my earrings beeped insistently. I nodded and left the jumbled and confusing scene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, a few points I want to clarify here.  
> First of all, the Oracle awakens when someone asks a question within earshot of Her host. However, only questions asked directly to the Oracle will awaken Her in the early stages of channeling. That's why the questions Marinette asked Ashley in the beginning didn't trigger the Oracle. However, toward the end, any question at all will cause the Oracle to take over Her host and deliver Her prophecy.  
> Another thing: I'm totally guessing on the steel thing. There's probably an episode of LoliRock somewhere that proves that steel doesn't actually prevent Praxina from using magic, but I needed Ladybug to get some sort of Lucky Charm. So please don't nag me about how lame of an excuse it is. I KNOW it's lame. You don't have to rub it in.  
> Last of all, the timeline of this book is kind of weird. The first book takes place during season 2 of Miraculous, of course. This one's a little trickier. It takes place in the middle of season 3, after the first half that was released on Netflix, but before the second half, so Chloe is still Queen Bee and Adrinette is still a thing. (I STILL can't get over the fact that Lukanette and Adrigami are canon... *insert crippling depression here*)  
> Thank you so much for reading! Be sure you watch the season 2 finale of LoliRock before you read the next chapter, because we're gonna be dealing pretty heavily with that. Have fun and stay safe!


	5. Ladybug

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> History is revealed about Ashley's true origins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my gosh, guys, I am so sorry I didn't post at all over the weekend like I usually do. This chapter is just SO FREAKING LONG. But now that I've FINALLY got it ready for you, please enjoy!

The Den was an abandoned tunnel near the sewers no one had stepped foot in for years. It was totally out of the way, and it was nearly impossible that anyone would stumble upon it by accident. As such, it was the perfect meeting place.

Ashley was there already, along with the three girls we’d encountered shortly before, only they were… different. Their strange gowns were gone, and their hair colors had become more natural. With a shock, I realized they were the American band that had arrived earlier today.

“I hope you don’t think too much of this,” Iris said, noticing my surprised expression. “We thought this would help you to contact us.”

“It-- it will make it easier,” I agreed, quickly trying to compose myself. “But I hope you don’t mind if we don’t do the same. We still need to protect our identities from each other.”

The three pop stars nodded, and I noticed Ashley grimace at my words as Cat Noir entered. He jumped when he saw the new girls without their costumes. “LoliRock?”

“Please don’t tell anyone,” Iris begged.

For a moment, Cat Noir looked too stunned to respond. Then he blinked and smiled. “Of course not. Our lips are sealed. Right, milady?” He winked at me.

I pretended not to notice. “Where are the others?” I asked, noting the absence of the other heroes who had been with us earlier.

“We decided it would be best if we kept this between the six of us,” Ashley said. “It’s important that this be kept secret, even more so than our identities, as you can see.” She frowned as she glanced at me and Cat Noir. “Though not _so_ important that you two finally take off the masks,” she muttered under her breath peevishly, almost unintelligibly.

I didn’t understand _what_ that was supposed to mean, but I assumed she just thought it would be easier that way, so I thought nothing of it. I sat down at the fold-out table Ashley had suggested we bring down here when we’d first decided on using the Den, and Cat Noir followed my lead.

“Let’s start with the easier stuff,” Ashley said, all traces of her former irritation gone. “The princesses don’t know much about the Miraculous.”

There she went again, calling them princesses. I figured that would be explained next, though, so I told the other girls about the properties of the magic jewelry that gave us our powers.

The three older girls were quiet when I finished. “They’re so _similar_ ,” Auriana finally said, fiddling with an orange ring on her right hand.

“Now it’s your turn,” I said. “Who was that girl in red?”

“Don’t you want to start with who _we_ are?” Talia asked with a small smile. “Don’t worry. We’ll get to her shortly.” She started to tell us about the magical land of Ephedia, where princesses with crystal powers ruled over all the individual kingdoms, and Iris was ruler over all of them together.

“We had to go through a lot of struggles before I could reclaim my throne, though,” Iris said.

Talia continued her story, telling us about the evil dictator Gramorr, who had tried to take over the throne of Ephedia. The red woman, whose name was Praxina, Talia said, was Gramorr’s lead warrior. Together with her twin brother, Mephisto, she attempted to retrieve magical Oracle Gems for her master.

“But during the final battle,” Talia said solemnly, “Mephisto fell to his death in an explosion from a powerful spell. We suspect Gramorr may have somehow rigged the avalanche that followed to prevent Mephisto from turning against him.”

What they suspected didn’t matter. Praxina blamed the princesses for Mephisto’s death, and had been seeking revenge on them ever since.

“That explains what the Oracle said,” I realized. “Praxina blames the princesses for taking her brother away from her.”

Talia’s eyes widened. “You can channel the Spirit of Delphia?” she asked Ashley in disbelief. “From _here_?”

“Am I not supposed to?” Ashley said, looking confused.

Talia shook her head, awestruck. “You’d have to be very powerful to be capable of it.”

“What’s Delphia?” I asked.

Talia and Ashley exchanged glances. Then Talia met my eyes.

“Delphia was the name of Princess Rosadia’s kingdom,” she said. “Rosadia’s parents died when she was thirty-two-- twelve in human years-- so her older sister, Amberly, became queen.

“When Amberly was the equivalent of a twenty-year-old human, she married and gave birth to twins, a girl and a boy. There was a huge celebration in honor of the princess, who was now first in line for the throne.

“But then tragedy struck Amberly’s family once again. A week later, she awoke in the middle of the night to find that her children and husband had been murdered.

“Amberly was near inconsolable. She mourned the loss of her family for five years. She did her queenly duties, of course, but other than that, stayed shut away from the world, and the palace of Delphia became saturated with a constant feeling of sadness.

“Rosadia, who was eighteen in human years at the time, was not very sympathetic. She threw a party in the castle without her sister’s permission. She claimed she hoped it would cheer her sister up, but Amberly never even left her room, and those closest to Rosadia later revealed that she only wanted to get drunk.

“Drunk wasn’t the only thing she got that night. After meeting dozens of suitors, Rosadia discovered that she was pregnant.

“The princess was horrified. She knew she would be ridiculed and made an outcast if anyone found out, so she tried to cover it up. However, that couldn’t work for long.

“Amberly was infuriated when she left her room one day to find that her sister was six months pregnant. She was lecturing Rosadia about duty and responsibility when Gramorr attacked the palace.

“Amberly didn’t hesitate. She took up her magic talisman and faced Gramorr himself in single combat while her sister, fearing for her own life, fled. It was thought that neither survived.”

Talia paused, then turned to Ashley, who breathed deeply and got to her feet. “I admit I haven’t been completely honest with you guys about where I came from. Well-- the more accurate statement would be that I gave you _some_ details and let you make your own assumptions.

“I wasn’t actually born to my parents. That’s why I have so many foster brothers-- my parents can’t have children.

“I grew up knowing I was adopted; my parents didn’t want me to suffer the trauma of finding out later on. But it wasn’t until I was ten that I learned the full truth.

“My parents had lived in Colorado for about six months, and my mom worked as a nurse at a hospital near their apartment. One day, while she was walking home from work, she noticed a young woman, barely nineteen by the looks of it, lying alone in an alley, breathing heavily. She was pregnant, and going into labor when Mom found her.

“Mom always said she barely thought twice. She helped the girl, but things didn’t turn out the way she would have hoped. The process seemed to be okay for the baby, but Mom didn’t think the girl was going to make it.

“The girl seemed to know it, too. She gave my mom a letter and begged her to give it to her child when she turned ten. Mom couldn’t refuse. As the girl died, Mom figured the best way to keep her promise would be to raise the girl’s child as her own.

“So she and Dad adopted me, and on my tenth birthday, they gave me the letter from my birth mother.” She held up a sheet of paper with strange symbols on it that didn’t mean anything to me. “Inside the envelope, I found these.” She pointed at her white teardrop earrings. “The letter explained everything about who my mother was, and also cleared up some surprising details about Rosadia’s story.”

“It doesn’t make any sense,” said Cat Noir, peering at the symbols on the paper. “How does that clear _anything_ up?”

“Certain people can read it,” Ashley said. “I’ve copied down a translation for you guys.” She slid a second piece of paper across the table to us, and Cat Noir and I bent over to read it.

_My dearest daughter,_

_It is not right for a life to end full of regret. But I am not sorry that I, now, am full of regret, for I would have died a more terrible person than I am now otherwise._

_I regret the pain I caused my sister when I told the man they called Mordur to kill her children. I regret leaving her side as she grieved. I regret abandoning her to die as our kingdom burned._

_But most of all, I regret that I am the one you must be born to._

_Some might argue that you should be killed, to cause me the same pain I brought upon my sister when I destroyed her happiness. I strongly disagree. Why should you be the one to suffer from the wickedness of my deeds?_

_But mere regret does not balance out my evil doings. Perhaps I can finally pay my debt by bringing you safely into this world._

_You, my child, have power, power beyond what anyone of this world can imagine, because you, child, are a princess. Your kingdom is Delphia, and your home is Ephedia. You have magic, and that magic comes from me, your fool of a mother._

_I am sorry that I could not train you, but you will learn. You are not the only magic princess on Earth, after all. There is at least one other, who does not yet know she is a princess. She is like you, but she does not have someone to tell her of her origins. Not until the other princesses find her, that is._

_You must find these other princesses. They need you, child. They need your abilities, for you are more powerful than most princesses in Ephedia. Your destiny is far greater than I alone could ever have imagined, if not for the divine help I have been given._

_With this letter I have included my earrings. Guard them with your life, for they are the most valuable and dangerous thing you will ever own. They are the royal jewels of Delphia. My sister’s circlet will now be lost, so you must never let the earrings out of your sight. They will enable you to transform into your magic gown, which will strengthen your powers. Keep them forever, child._

_I do not know what name your new mother will give you, but I wanted to call you Kylina. It is a name from my language--_ your _language-- which means “peacemaker,” or “she who keeps the world in balance.” Princess Iris may be destined to save Ephedia, but you are the one who will defend its balance._

_It is with this name, Kylina, that you will be able to activate your earrings and take upon you your power. I trust that you will use your abilities for good, rather than making the same mistakes I did._

_I love you, dear child, and I hope you are not like me, but more like my sister. Amberly, who loved every child as her own, who felt the pain of those she loved, who gave up her life to protect her sister even while she was spiteful towards her. Strive to be like her, darling, as I should have strived to be like her all my life._

_With love, Mother_

“Wow,” Cat Noir said as we reached the end of the letter.

“Indeed,” Talia said. “This letter has given us a lot of useful information. Queen Amberly’s magic jewel, which was kept secret from the rest of Ephedia for its protection, was a circlet. Rosadia arranged for someone called Mordur to kill her niece and nephew out of jealousy. But most importantly, she survived long enough to escape to Earth and have her own child.”

My mouth was open too wide for me to say anything. Ashley, a princess? Of a kingdom on another planet? It seemed too incredible to be true!

And yet… didn’t it just make sense? Ashely _did_ seem to have a lot more powers than me and the other heroes. I’d always attributed them to her Miraculous, but the Panda couldn’t have _that_ many more powers, even if it _was_ the most powerful Miraculous in existence. And hadn’t Ashley said things other than her Miraculous had created her “lair” in New York?

“Is that where the Oracle comes from?” I asked. “Your… birth mother?”

“It’s a power unique to the royal family,” Talia replied. “Delphian princesses are often seers.”

“She’s been coming to me ever since I claimed the earrings,” Ashley said. “I seriously thought I was going to die the first time.”

“What happened?” I asked, remembering how much pain Ashley was in before she channeled the Oracle.

“I’d been feeling sick all day, so I was alone in my room,” Ashley said. “I only know what I said because my mom had been filming some birds out my window and forgot to turn off the camera.”

Ashley pulled out her phone and tapped on the screen a few times. A second later, the sound of birds singing came flowing out of the speaker, scratchy and somewhat faded. In the background, I could hear the tiny whimpers of a young girl. “What’s up, honey?” asked a very quiet, echoing voice that I assumed belonged to Ashley’s mom.

The whimpers stopped, and I heard the hushed creak of bedsprings. There was a sharp intake of breath, and the birds were sent into the background by the unmistakable voice of the Oracle.

_“They have found her at last,”_ She rasped. _“She will now begin her journey to victory, which will lead her to her throne. The Dark Majesty’s reign is nearing its end.”_

At that moment, Ashley’s mom spoke again, sounding more concerned. “Ashley? Are you all right, sweetie?”

There was a soft _thump_ as the Oracle left Ashley’s body and she fell back onto the bed. Footsteps began approaching the recorder. A quiet moan came from the speaker, quickly followed by three sharp knocks. “Ashley?” Ashley’s mom said. “Are you doing okay?”

“Uh… yeah, Mom,” said a younger version of Ashley’s voice. “I’m feeling a lot better now.”

Ashley stopped the playback and rested her phone on the table. “I must have listened to that recording hundreds of times,” she said, “but to this day I still have no idea what that first prophecy meant.”

Talia looked thoughtful. “What’s the date on that recording?”

“June third, six years ago,” Ashley rattled off automatically.

Auriana gasped. “That was the day we met Iris!”

Ashley’s mouth formed a small “o” of surprise and comprehension.

“Well, there you go,” I said. “The prophecy was about Iris defeating Gramorr and taking back the throne of Ephedia.”

Ashley didn’t appear to have heard. She had picked up her phone again and was scrolling through it with an expression of amazement. “Of course!” she said in a hushed voice. “That explains so many of my other prophecies! They were all about you!” She looked at Talia. “I guess I should have known you were always nearby.”

“We try to stay low-key,” Talia said.

“And being in a famous pop band is _low-key_?” I said dubiously.

Ashley laughed, looking more herself again. Then she turned to Talia with a look that suggested she was trying to contain her excitement. “We should start training soon. I’ve taught myself a few spells, but I’m going to need to learn more offensive and defensive magic with specific incantations.”

“I agree,” said Talia. “I get the feeling Praxina won’t be expecting you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my goodness, SO much new information!  
> First of all, I meant to add more about how the Miraculous and magic jewels of Ephedia might be connected. Like, what if the Miraculous were actually lost Ephedian jewels? But I couldn't find a way to add that in here, so sorry. But if you guys really want it, I might be able to make a spin-off.  
> Second, that was my first cameo in any of my books! I've planned on including a cameo of my name in each of my series, even if it's just in the notes as a little "Hey, by the way, this is what this unnamed character's name is." This is the largest role that the character named after me plays in any of my stories, though.  
> And then there's the stuff about Rosadia and Delphia. Now you see why I had to up the rating. Originally, Rosadia and Amberly were the same person, but then I decided it worked better for the story if Ashley's birth mother was a little bit of a b****, pardon my French (haha). More on that in the next book.  
> And then the stuff about Delphia and the Oracle.. NOOOOOOOO, I'm TOTALLY not taking that from Greek mythology, y'all are crazy...  
> Finally, Ashley's magic. She CAN use it; it's kind of like in Harry Potter, where she had to learn to control it, and she can SOMETIMES use it for specific things, like building her lair. However, that only happens when she has an emotion overpowering her, like when Harry was so angry that he made the glass in the zoo exhibit disappear when he was eleven. (Can you tell I'm also a HUGE Harry Potter fan?) She can't do very specific things very often because she needs to know certain incantations. It's kind of like in the first episode of LoliRock when Iris shot Mephisto in the butt with a crystal even though she didn't know specific spells. She can do a LITTLE magic, but not much.  
> Thank you so much for reading. Everything moves pretty quickly from here, so we'll get to the action like right away. Have fun and stay safe!


	6. Praxina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meanwhile, the villains of our tale...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Sugarcubes! As this is one of the first chapters I got to write from a villain's perspective, I really enjoyed writing it. I hope you have just as much fun reading it!

Underground, it was dark and dank and gloomy. Underground, it was smelly and cramped.

Underground, it was safe.

It wasn’t really _that_ bad. It was warm down here, and I had my tixons. And besides, it reminded me of the cave my brother and I had hid in while working for Gramorr.

_Mephisto…_

Fury filled my chest. If it weren’t for those stupid princesses, my brother would still be alive.

That was the closest call I’d had since Gramorr’s days; I’d only barely escaped them this time. The strings on those petty Earth toys were harder to break than I remembered.

The memory of my narrow escape turned my thoughts to those teenagers with the princesses last evening. Earth clothes were odd, but the clothing the princesses’ companions wore was exceptionally strange. And it had seemed like they’d had magic, too, though it was certainly not Ephedian. Still, I decided not to think too much of them. They were _Earthens_ , after all. Completely worthless of my attention.

Except for that black-and-white girl. I felt an extra-strong surge of hatred towards _her_.

I wondered if I was close to any humans. Perhaps I could send a tixon to the surface to see what was going on.

I reached out with my mind. To my surprise, I sensed someone… deep underground, just like me.

One of my tixons fluttered too close to my face. I sent it a mental message, telling it to go away, but it didn’t obey. Upon examining it closer, I realized with a start that it was _not_ a tixon. It was a little larger, with purple markings on the wings instead of red.

In spite of my shock, I smirked. Someone else had magic here.

I reached out and brushed the creature’s wings with my fingertips, instantly bending it to my will. “Take me to your master,” I crooned softly.

The beautiful thing obeyed. It landed on my finger, and a second later, I was standing in a large room full of white butterflies, whisked there by a teleportation spell. In the center of the winged insects, a man with a cane and a mask similar to my own stood staring at me in shock.

“Hello,” I said in greeting.

The man swiftly twisted the orb on the end of his cane, removing a wickedly thin saber from its sheath. “Who are you?” he demanded.

“I am Praxina,” I introduced myself. “And what do they call you here?”

“Hawk Moth.” He did not lower his weapon. Smart.

“Hawk Moth.” I mused over the name. “I like it. It implies power.”

“What do you want?” the one called Hawk Moth said.

I smiled and let a tixon rest in my outstretched hand. “I have an offer to make.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Praxina is a fun character. She's driven by rage, fury, other synonyms for anger. She is one of the most ruthless villains I've ever seen in a children's television show, and I think that makes her that much more dangerous than Hawk Moth. Of course, when these two characters combine, there is a lot more danger. Praxina can already enslave the minds of others (you'll see this in the next chapter), but to do that AND give them superpowers makes her even deadlier of a foe. She's such a fun villain to write about because she can provide incredible conflict, and that's the thing a writer really looks for.  
> Thank you so much for reading! Have fun and stay safe!


	7. Chloe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe makes a dangerous realization.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, Sugarcubes! I enjoyed writing Chloe's stuff from Iris's perspective, but isn't it just so much more fun to read her direct thoughts instead? Enjoy!

It annoyed me to  _ no end _ that Kylina wouldn’t let me know the truth about those weird girls we’d met two days ago. After all, I  _ was _ Queen Bee! And those outfits those girls had been wearing, with those outrageous hair colors? Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous! I deserved to know what made them partial to such wildly ludicrous fashion choices.

“Do you want to go play dress-up, Chloe?” Sabrina asked hopefully.

I rolled my eyes. “Do I  _ look _ like I want to play right now?” I snapped. “I’m a little busy with superhero stuff at the moment.”

“Oh,” Sabrina said. “Yes, of course. Um, what  _ kind _ of superhero stuff?”

I  _ hated _ it when she asked me to elaborate! In reality, I was trying to figure out the truth about those girls on my own. They had seemed to recognize me as Queen Bee (and why wouldn’t they, seeing how I was absolutely, fabulously unforgettable?) but not really the rest of the superheroes. At least, not immediately. I supposed I really  _ did _ outshine Ladybug and Cat Noir.

Suddenly, there was a large crash from outside. I rushed to the balcony to see a gigantic sentimonster in the form of a monstrous teddy bear that vaguely resembled Mr. Cuddly wreaking havoc just two blocks away. Without wasting another second, I switched on the Queen Bee-con.

I wondered when Ladybug would finally get it through her thick skull that I should have permanent possession of the Bee Miraculous, like she and Cat Noir had of their own. Hadn’t I saved Paris enough times to have totally deserved it? I supposed, however, that keeping things the way they were might prevent Mayura from trying to steal it again.

But still.

“Do you want me to go get a snack?” Sabrina asked anxiously. “You know, just in case Ladybug beats the monster before she has the chance to give you your Miraculous?”

“Uh, yeah, do that,” I said distractedly, hardly paying attention to what she was prattling on about. Sabrina, like an eager hound, hurried off to fetch something to eat.

Fifteen minutes later, I tapped my fingers on the handrail impatiently. What was taking everyone so long? It couldn’t be  _ that _ hard to beat a monster and fetch a snack. Unless…

Unless the monster was just a diversion.

There was no akumatized villain around the monster. It was all on its own, like the time Hawk Moth tried to akumatize me but got Sabrina instead.

Sabrina! Oh no, what if Hawk Moth was targeting her again? I couldn’t let that happen again, or Ladybug would  _ never _ let me be Queen Bee again!

I turned around to go downstairs and warn her, but froze at the sight of a black butterfly hovering in front of my face. It wasn’t Sabrina Hawk Moth was after.

It was me.

_ It only affects people with negative emotions, _ I reminded myself as my heart rate sped up.  _ Be confident, and it can’t control you. _

The akuma slowly floated toward me.  _ Be confident, be confident, be confident. _

The akuma approached my sunglasses, perched on top of my head.  _ Be confident, be confident, be-- _

My confidence was penetrated by a mad stab of fear. Why wasn’t it working?

Just before it slipped into my sunglasses, my question was answered by the red markings on the butterfly’s wings.

This was no akuma.

It was something far more dangerous.

I slipped into pure and total darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we see that Chloe was good for like half a second before she tried to take over the world.  
> Despite her behavior toward her, Chloe really does care about Sabrina... in her own weird way. So I thought having Chloe try to help Sabrina, even if it was ultimately for her own benefit, might be a nice little redemption thing in here that I will COMPLETELY ignore in future books. Sorry, guys, but COME ON. It's CHLOE, for Pete's sake.  
> I know I said I'd explain tixons in this chapter, but I lied. There would be spoilers, so I'm going to save it for the next chapter, and I PROMISE I will explain it then.  
> And then one more thing-- I KNOW it's called the Bee Signal. But isn't Queen Bee-con just so much better?  
> Thank you for reading! Have fun (even though the mind numbing-ness of it all is even starting to get to me) and stay safe!


	8. Auriana

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Auriana gets a lead-- though it may turn out to be less than she had hoped for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Sugarcubes! It's finally here, the chapter where I'll explain to you my made-up magic. Enjoy!

“Step, two, turn around, and arms, arms, seven, eight…”

I followed the steps with as much gusto as I could muster, but still my dancing appeared half-hearted. The things in my head were making it hard for me to pay attention. Well… harder than usual.

How had I never known about this Delphia place? I’d’ve thought Momma would have told me before I left for my mission to find Iris, but apparently not.

And now we’d found another long-lost princess! It made me wonder how many more there could possibly be.

Caught up in my thoughts, I missed a beat and crashed into Iris. with a yelp from both sides, we went sprawling to the ground.

“Stop!” Talia called. Amaru pressed the pause button on the stereo.

“What’s going on, Auriana?” Iris asked, sitting up. “You seem distracted.”

“More so than usual,” Talia put in.

I didn’t want to tell them that I kept thinking about that Kylina/Ashley girl. I didn’t want them to think I was starting to lose trust in my family and superiors. “It’s nothing,” I said. “I’m just… so excited about getting to meet the superheroes! Do you think we could convince them to come to our concert?”

Talia allowed herself a small smile. “We’ll see.”

I giggled, trying to brush off my more serious thoughts, then stood up and stretched. “Could we take a quick break? All this dancing’s made me hungry.”

“Sure,” Talia said. She opened the door and called, “ _Monsieur_ \--”

“Oh, no, don’t bother,” I said quickly. “I haven’t gotten to go sightseeing yet. And I kind of want to go to the Dupain bakery, I overheard some of the staff talking about it and they said they have the most _amazing_ macarons--”

“Of course,” Iris said. “We’ll come with you.”

“It’s okay,” I said. “If I get distracted by any really cute boys, Amaru will be enough.” Enough to let me squeeze out a little more time with said cute boys…

“Well…” Talia said, looking unsure.

“Let her go,” Iris said. I smiled my thanks. “Just save some desserts for us!” she called as I hurried out the door, Amaru hot on my heels.

As I entered the elevator, my phone buzzed, alerting me to an incoming call. I tapped the _Accept_ button. “Jello?”

“Auriana?”

“Oh, hi, Chloe!” I said cheerfully. “What’s going on?”

“It’s that red girl,” Chloe said in a hushed voice. “I’m spying on her right now.”

“What?” I gasped. “But-- how did you find her? And how do you know--?”

“No time to explain,” said Chloe. “Get over here, now.”

“All right,” I said, deciding that Ladybug and Cat Noir must have told Chloe our identities without telling us. Not something I would usually have been okay with, but it seemed it had turned out to be pretty good. “Just let me get Talia and Iris--”

“No!” Chloe hissed, making me jump. “That’ll take too long. Just come on your own. I’ll try to get in touch with Talia and Iris.”

I nodded. “I’ll be right there.”

* * *

I checked the street sign at the corner, making sure I hadn’t made a mistake as I often did. Yep, this was the place.

So why was it empty?

It wasn’t, I noticed just a second later. A figure lurking in the shadows stood with their back to me. “I trusted you would come,” they said.

“Chloe?” I was confused.

“I’m glad you followed my instructions and came alone,” Chloe continued. “It’ll make this so much easier.”

“Yes, I’m here,” I said. “Now come on! Where’s Praxina?”

Chloe gave a low chuckle and turned around. “She’s right here!”

Her eyes glowed red.

I gasped. “Praxina?” Of _course_ she would have tixonized someone!

Chloe-- or rather, _Praxina_ , using Chloe as a mouthpiece-- cackled. “Foolish princess!” she sneered. “Did you _actually_ think I could be found by such a weak human as _this_?”

“I hoped,” I said grimly, then thrust my hand into the air. “Auriana, princess of Volta!”

My familiar orange dress replaced my regular clothes, and the Ribbon of Volta, my personal weapon, appeared in my hand. “I don’t know where your physical body is, Praxina,” I growled, “but I will not let you live inside my friends!” I snapped the Ribbon in her direction.

My opponent easily sidestepped my attack. “You call this girl your friend?” she laughed. “A bratty snob who couldn’t care less about you or anyone else on this worthless planet?”

“You certainly do a good job of describing yourself.”

Praxina/Chloe’s features contorted into an expression of unbridled fury. “It’s true that I don’t care about you, or any of the useless twerps in this world. But who killed the only person with any _real_ value?”

“It wasn’t our fault,” I said, desperately repeating the words my friends and I had been saying to her for six years. “We’ve told you, Gramorr didn’t want Mephisto--”

“You are not worthy to say his name!” Praxina screeched. “You are not worthy to even _think_ of him, you lying, conniving, no-good, horrible--”

“Are you sure you’re talking about _me_ , Praxina?” I asked. “Come with me. It’s not too late to make things right.”

“How?” Praxina said mockingly. “With those little _friends_ of yours you met the other night? You don’t know a single thing about them!”

“One of them is like us,” I said without thinking.

“Oh, please,” Praxina sneered. “You _actually_ believe _she’s_ a princess? Have you even _seen_ her do magic?”

I blinked in confusion. “Well-- she can channel the spirit of Delphia--”

“She _says_ she can use the magic of a place you’ve never even heard of!” said Praxina. “How do you know you can trust her?”

I bit my lip. “But-- the earrings. Talia said--”

“How do you know this girl isn’t lying?” Praxina went on. “How do you know it’s not all a hoax, and you’re being duped? That she’s as cunning and manipulative as _me_?”

“You-- you’re trying to trick me,” I said, struggling to stay focused.

Praxina shrugged, the trace of a cruel smile playing on her lips. “Just pointing out the obvious.”

My thoughts were twisted and tangled up in knots. Was it true? Could Kylina have been lying to us all along? I fell to my knees, overwhelmed with the possibility that Praxina could be right.

Something tickled my fingers near my ring. Suddenly, I was looking into the eyes of a man wearing a silver mask. “I won’t do your bidding,” I said automatically.

“I never asked you to,” the man said with the ghost of a smile. “I’m giving you an opportunity. I’m allowing you the power to discover the truth, to prove the loyalties of your supposed allies. I only want one thing in return.”

I hesitated, then nodded. “Thank you.” I got to my feet, returning to normal as I did so.

The man smiled serenely. “Stay close, Moonstone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AURIANA NUUUUUUUUU WHY U DO DIS??????  
> Sorry. She's just such a sweet character, why...? Oh yeahh, because I MADE it happen MWAHAHAHA!!!!!  
> So, tixons. They're magical butterflies from Ephedia that obey whoever has the magic to turn their allegiance. When Praxina controls them, she can use them to gain control over the mind of another. She can choose to either use them as a puppet or possess them fully, taking their body and using it as a kind of container for her spirit. Currently, she's possessing Chloe entirely, which is why her eyes are glowing completely red. When someone's just her mind slave, they have only a faint reddish glow in their eyes that can easily be mistaken for symptoms of pink eye or allergies or crying too much. And that's all you need to know about tixons for now, because more information will be revealed in chapters to come.  
> And I also think it would be very redundant of me to explain that Praxina and Hawk Moth are in an alliance. I'm just gonna say it anyway: PRAXINA AND HAWK MOTH ARE IN AN ALLIANCE. There.  
> Hope you guys liked this chapter! Have fun and stay safe!


	9. Talia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talia decides to spend some quality time with her friend-- but it turns out to be nothing like she expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, my Sugarcubes! We've had quite a lot happening in previous chapters-- but that's not gonna change anytime soon. Enjoy!

I touched the poster of the Ladybug and Cat Noir movie and frowned. Earth entertainment just kept _changing_ all the time.

“You won’t _believe_ what just happened to me on the street!” Auriana gushed as she came in. “I got ice cream from this guy, and he said eating it would make my true love appear!”

“Remind me not to let you have any more sugar for the rest of this trip, Auriana,” I said, concealing a small smile.

Auriana stuck her tongue out at me teasingly and sat down on her bed. “Where’d Iris go?”

“Her necklace started glowing,” I said. “She said she’d go check it out herself. If it’s anything _really_ serious, Ladybug and Cat Noir will handle it.”

Auriana stuck out her bottom lip poutily. “Why don’t _we_ ever fix problems anymore?”

“We swore we’d only intervene if it had anything to do with Praxina,” I reminded her. “It’s strange… you haven’t heard anything from her since last week, have you?”

“Nope,” Auriana replied, popping her lips on the “p”. She blew her bangs out of her face carelessly. Then, slowly, she began to smile. She jumped to her feet and grabbed my arm. “Come with me,” she said. “I have something to show you.”

“Can’t it wait?”

“For what? We can’t really practice without Iris,” she pointed out. “Trust me, you are _not_ gonna want to miss this.”

I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Fine.”

Auriana squealed excitedly and tugged me out of the hotel.

Fifteen minutes later, we stood in an abandoned warehouse, the only light coming from the cracks between the boards nailed over the windows. I crossed my arms. “All right, I’m here. Now what was it you wanted to show me?”

Auriana’s smile took on a sinister tone. “This.”

She held out her hand toward me, and suddenly I was trapped behind a wall of dark orange crystal.

“What the--” I gasped, staggering backwards.

Auriana cackled, then raised her right hand. “Volta!”

She transformed, but she wasn’t the same. Her dress had turned a darker shade of orange and taken on hints of black and silver. Her lips curved into a cruel smile, and her eyes burned the color of fire.

How could this have happened? Had Praxina somehow discovered a way to disguise the red eyes that came with a tixon? “Auriana, stop!” I cried. “I know you’re in there!”

“You will not call me Auriana,” she hissed. “From now on, I am Moonstone!”

I’d never heard of Praxina using a different name when she tixonized someone, but maybe this was just another one of her tricks. “Talia, princess of Xeris!” I shouted.

As my magic was strengthened, I broke my fiery-orange trap. “I didn’t want to have to do this, Auriana,” I said. I raised the Wand of Xeris. “ _Crystal Expeldium!_ ”

There was a bright flash of light as the spell was cast. When it faded, Auriana was left standing there. She was still dark.

“How?” I gasped.

Auriana chuckled menacingly. “Oh, Talia,” she said, shaking her head ruefully. “You were always the most intelligent out of the three of us. Too bad you weren’t always _smart_.”

I dropped to my knees, overcome with shock and terror. “How?” I sobbed. “Why didn’t it work?”

Something brushed against my wrist, and the image of a masked man dressed in purple appeared in my eyes.

“Hello, Crystal Star.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First Auriana, now Talia... I'm beginning to detect a pattern here.  
> Just to make it clear, Crystal Expeldium is the spell used to expel a tixon from one who has been corrupted by it. And no, it's not real. I would have used Crystal Luxtra, but from the show it seems like it requires all three princesses in order for it to be cast, and, well... Auriana's a little occupied at the moment, as you can see.  
> As for Iris's necklace glowing, that was for Talia, only she didn't know because she wasn't quite in need of assistance YET. I know I'm kind of stretching the canon uses of magic, but I needed Iris out of the picture.  
> Oh, and there will be a lot more bending of the rules of magic in the near future. #sorrynotsorry  
> Hope you guys have had fun with this book so far! It's got a TON more action than the first book, which makes me happy, because I dislike writing boring chapters as much as you guys probably dislike reading them. There's lots more action in the near future, so stay tuned! Have fun and stay safe!


	10. Ashley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ashley gets a warning, but did it come too late?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! It's finally here: Ashley's first important chapter in this book... halfway through it. Oh, well. Enjoy!

My bracelet burned.

I looked up from my assignment, startled. My bracelet _never_ burned anymore.

I glanced down at Mistry, who was peeking out of my school bag. She was staring at my bracelet, eyes wide with horror.

I quickly checked the charm and suppressed a scream. The black side had inched over to cover two-thirds of the entire symbol.

I hurriedly swallowed my panic and raised my hand, fighting to keep it from visibly trembling. “Miss Bustier? May I use the restroom, please?” It was the mark of my exceptional acting skills that my voice wasn’t an octave higher than usual from terror.

“Of course, Ashley,” Miss Bustier said. I managed a brief smile and quickly exited the classroom, hiding Mistry with my hand.

Once the door was shut, I pressed myself up against the wall, struggling to regain control over my heart rate. It wasn’t long before Marinette came out into the hall, too. “What’s going on?” she asked urgently.

I shook my head. “Not here,” I squeaked. My throat was closing up from the effort of not screaming.

Marinette dragged me to the bathroom and slammed the door behind her. “What is it?” she demanded.

I was starting to hyperventilate. I wordlessly showed her the bracelet.

“What does it mean?” Marinette asked, clearly puzzled.

“The darkness is overpowering the light,” I said in a strangled voice. “Balance is becoming unbalanced.”

Marinette’s eyes widened. “What? How?”

“I don’t know,” I choked out. “But we have to stop it. A second we don’t fight is a second on the side of darkness.”

Marinette nodded. “Tikki, spots on!” she announced.

Before I could call out Mistry’s command, the bathroom door was ripped off its hinges and sent crashing to the ground.

Chloe stood in the empty door frame, smiling cruelly. “I knew I’d find you close by, Spotty,” she said. “It couldn’t take you more than a week to realize the truth.”

Her eyes were bright red. “Look out!” I said to Ladybug. “She’s being controlled by a tixon!”

“A _what_?”

“A tixon!” I repeated. “It’s a creature from Ephedia. Praxina controls a whole army of them!”

Ladybug grimaced. “Where do you think it is?”

“That’s not how it works!” I said. “Only Ephedian magic can get rid of a tixon!”

Talia had been training me in that spell for days, but I still hadn’t gotten the hang of it. But if my hunch was correct, there was no one else left who could or would do it.

That left only one option.

I would have to activate my earrings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, a few things to touch on here.  
> So, Ashley's bracelet. In the first book, we found out it burns whenever there is a possible disruption to balance. In the first few months of her staying in Paris, it burned every single time someone was akumatized. However, as time went on, the bracelet stopped perceiving normal akumatizations as danger to balance. That's why Ashley gets so worried when her bracelet burns. This is the first time it's done this in over a year, so she knows it has to be alerting her to a major problem.  
> Then we finally got that example of the bracelet changing according to the state of balance. It's changed so much because the akumatizations of the princesses will affect not only the entire planet of Earth, but Ephedia as well.  
> Then, no, Chloe does not know Ladybug and Kylina's identities. "Chloe" was absent from class that day because she decided to make her move then, so she didn't see Marinette going into the bathroom. She's just been kicking down random doors all day. XD Then the stuff where Ashley's explaining tixons to Ladybug: Ashley cast a spell to make what she was saying unintelligible to "Chloe."  
> Speaking of spells, there's finally Ashley activating her earrings. She hasn't been able to do it yet because she needs a trigger. In the first episode of LoliRock, Iris has difficulty transforming for the first time and needs the pressure of her loved ones being threatened in order to finally do it (spoilers). This is the same for Ashley. However, she can still use magic, even when she's not transformed, so she's been learning a lot from Talia in the past week-- you know, until she got akumatized. (BTW, this chapter takes place right after Talia gets akumatized.) The expulsion spell is incredibly advanced, but Ashley asked to get started on it right away because she thought she might need to use it in the near future. Good thing she did, because now she at least knows the theory. Now all that's left to do is to actually cast it.  
> If you've made it this far, thanks for sticking with me through the rambling. Hope you've liked this story so far. Have fun and stay safe!


	11. Kylina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle begins-- but something here is too important to risk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Sugarcubes! FINALLY, Caleb gets a little more limelight here! Enjoy!

I gave Ladybug a look. She got it and started fighting Chloe-- what am I saying, _Praxina_ one on one, allowing me to dart past her into the locker room.

“Mistry, paws up!” I said once I was safely concealed and out of Praxina’s hearing range. As Kylina, I hurried back to try and help Ladybug.

“Kylina!” Ladybug cried in relief, as though I hadn’t just left the room for five seconds. “ _Please_ tell me you know how to stop her!”

“I think the real question is, will I be able to pull it off?” I replied. “I’ll try, but it’s not going to be easy.”

“Oh, do you think you’ll be able to use your powers?” Praxina taunted. “Face it, little one. You’ll _never_ be able to use magic the way the other princesses can. Not before it’s too late.”

Fear panged through me as I realized this was a very real possibility. Then I noticed a black butterfly hovering behind a triumphant-looking Chloe/Praxina. It was too far away for me to determine whether it was an akuma or a tixon, but either way, I sure as hell didn’t want it to touch me.

“Maybe not,” I said, refusing to let her get to me, “but that doesn’t mean I won’t still try.”

Praxina growled, evidently frustrated that I hadn’t given up hope. Then, she unexpectedly smirked. “Have it your way, then,” she said. To my shock, Chloe’s feet left the ground, and she flew away.

“What in the--?” Ladybug gasped, gaping at the place our enemy had just been standing.

“Apparently Praxina’s powers inhabit the host as well as herself,” I said grimly.

“Where do you think she could have gone?”

“She had an akuma with her,” I said. I was sure of it now; I’d seen the purple markings on its wings. “I’ll bet anything she’s after one of us.”

“But then what might she do to make us feel those negative emotions?” Ladybug wondered.

My eyes popped open as I realized. “The class!”

Ladybug’s eyes widened in fear. Without saying another word to each other, we sprinted back up to the classroom.

Scarlet crystal was blocking the doorway when we finally made it up, and students were panicking, shoving each other up against the magic barrier, though it did them little good. Pressing my hand against the blockage, I summoned all of my concentration. “ _Crystal Solvenda!_ ”

A white magic circle appeared over my palm. The crystal vanished under my fingertips, and the students flooded out like the classroom was an overfilled water balloon. Emboldened by my success, I briefly nodded at Adrien as he hurried past.

“I’ll admit, you learn quick, Miss Fortune Teller,” Praxina said with a wicked smirk. “But not quick enough.” She held her palm out toward me, a red spell circle with a lightning symbol in the center appearing over it. I only just managed to get through the doorway before another wall of scarlet materialized in it, separating me from Ladybug just as Cat Noir showed up behind her. I held up my hand to remove the barricade again, but Praxina said, “I wouldn’t try it.”

I spun around. Praxina was smirking as she hovered over one of the desks at the back of the classroom, pointing her hand at a scarlet crystal cocoon containing--

_Caleb._

“Such a shame,” Praxina crooned, running her finger down the face of Caleb’s crystal prison. “He really is attractive. And American, too, I believe. Oh, those boys back in the princesses’ hometown gave me the _sweetest_ little shivers--”

“If you lay a single finger on him…” I snarled.

“You’ll what?” Praxina said mockingly. “You’ll kill me? I seriously doubt you’d dare to risk it.”

“If you touch one single hair on his head,” I promised, “I will hunt you down, wherever you are, and your death will be slow and agonizing.”

“Really?” Praxina said, raising an eyebrow in amusement. “So what would happen if I just…?” She raised her hand, a crimson circle appearing over it.

“No!” I cried, thrusting out my hand to stop her. Behind me, Cat Noir was striking his baton uselessly against the crystal barricade.

“Oh.” Praxina stuck out her bottom lip in a fake pout. “Does our little fortune teller care too much about human life to risk her friend’s scrawny little neck?”

Rage boiled up in my chest, but that wasn’t the only thing. I felt power there, power that I had never felt before yet somehow found familiar. “So it’s a fight you want, Praxina?” I said. “Then it’s a fight you’ll get.” I craned my neck, staring up into the heavens. “Kylina, princess of Delphia!”

There was a blinding flash of white light, and then all was still.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CLIFFHANGERSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!  
> I'm sorry, I just really love cliffhangers. HA!  
> That's all for today. Sorry, but I want to keep the cliffhanger fresh in your minds. Bye!


	12. Princess Kylina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylina has tapped into a new source of power-- but this new magic comes with a terrible reminder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I know that wasn't really a cliffhanger last chapter. It just kind of felt like one to me. If it did to you guys, then I guess I'm not as crazy as I originally thought. Anyway, enjoy!

The dress reached the tops of my knees. The boots went halfway up my calves and had two-inch heels. Fingerless gloves covered the backs of my hands and reached all the way up to my biceps. My hair had grown down to my knees and become soft and silky. A sparkling cape flared out behind me, teardrop shapes at its two pointed tips. All of it was the same white as my magic.

Praxina’s jaw dropped. “But-- but-- how?” she sputtered.

I twisted around to peer over my shoulders, trying to see my new costume from every possible angle. It was a bit strange, but then again, it _was_ traditional Ephedian wear. I turned back to Praxina. “Leave the boy out of this. This is between you and me.”

Praxina still seemed stunned, but it wasn’t long before she regained her usual swagger. “So you’ve managed to transform,” she said. “Big deal. You still can’t do the spell.”

“Does it matter?” I said. “I’ll still stop you.”

Praxina smirked. “Really? And can I ask _how_ you’re going to do that?”

“I don’t think you heard me,” I snarled at her. “Get. The hell. Away. From. Him.”

Praxina shrugged. “Fine. This fight won’t last very long anyway.” She flexed her wrists, and a pair of thin crimson sabers appeared in her hands.

Since when could she summon _weapons_? I wondered if I could, too. I opened my hands, and a white crystal throwing star materialized in each one.

Chloe/Praxina’s face drained of color. “No. It-- it takes weeks to learn--”

I examined the shuriken in my right hand carefully, testing the feel of these new, unfamiliar weapons, then matched Praxina’s gaze with a smirk of my own. “I guess I’m not as powerless as you thought, huh?”

Praxina growled and lunged at me, and I discovered pretty quickly that my weapons were not exactly made for close combat. Knowing that Praxina could easily injure me at such close range, I tried to see if my stars had any other magical properties. To my delight, I could magically attach them to the backs of my wrists, enabling me to block Praxina’s rapiers.

Even though the shurikens _were_ pretty cool, I wished I still had my staff and boomerang. I was much more practiced in those. But I worked with what I had.

Praxina was relentless, coming at me fiercely with each attack, forcing me to back away, closer and closer to the front of the classroom. If she kept this up for much longer, I would soon be backed up against the wall, with nowhere to run. I realized my problem was that I was only defending. In order to regain the upper hand, I would have to attack at some point.

I hurled one of my shurikens at the hanging light fixture above Praxina’s head. She leapt back as it came crashing down on the very spot where she had been standing. The star came hurtling back into my hand, just like my boomerang.

I smiled. Maybe this wasn’t as unfamiliar as I’d originally thought.

Now that Praxina was further away, I was out of range of her rapiers. She, on the other hand, was the perfect distance away for my shurikens. I became the attacker, backing Praxina into a corner the way she had with me. I threw my stars over and over again, though I repeatedly missed my opponent on purpose. I had to beat her, but I was reluctant to harm Chloe, however annoying she was.

Praxina noticed this. Grinning malevolently, she stopped just short of Caleb’s cocoon and held the blade of one of her sabers to her throat. “I wouldn’t take another step if I were you.”

I froze. “What are you doing?”

“One more move and the girl dies,” Praxina said. “I doubt you’d want your precious little _friend_ to lose her life because of you.”

Her words had more effect on me than she realized. I staggered back, remembering.

When I was eleven, I’d killed my brother.

The fire had started in his classroom, the result of a pile of paperwork left carelessly on the radiator. The school had been evacuated at once.

I remember standing with my sixth-grade class, watching anxiously for his class. Most of them made it out, but one student was missing. Simon.

I’d only discovered Mistry three weeks earlier. I’d never used her power before that moment, but I quietly slipped away into the bathroom of the church we’d escaped to and transformed for the very first time.

The firemen thought I was just a kid in cosplay. They told me to leave, that anyone left in there would be dead by now. Ignoring them, I ran into the flames.

Despite what the firemen had said, Simon was still alive, coughing and crying but clearly breathing. I tried to run to him, but burning rafters fell between us. I yelled at him to hang on, that I was going to help him, though I had no idea how. Remembering my special power, I raised my boomerang to use it.

That was when the ceiling collapsed on top of Simon.

I heard an unearthly scream, high-pitched and continuing for what seemed like eternities without end. It wasn’t until after that I realized it was me.

One exceptionally courageous fireman found me screaming and sobbing, staring horror-struck at what had become Simon’s final resting place. He gently led me away from there and outside. Despite the horror I had just witnessed, I had sense enough not to tell him who I was.

That experience haunted me for the rest of my life. If I hadn’t hesitated, if I hadn’t argued with the firemen, if I’d transformed the minute I knew there was trouble, Simon might still be alive.

I’d been horribly pyrophobic since that day. But most of all, I was afraid of not being able to prevent another death.

And now it was all happening again.

Chloe was Simon, helpless and unable to escape on her own. Praxina was the fire, perfectly poised and ready to kill.

And here I was, new and inexperienced, hesitating once again.

I’d sworn an oath of preservation the day Simon had died. Never again would human life be taken if I could stop it. Could I keep that promise now?

Could I save Chloe, the way I’d never been able to save Simon?

Could I prove Praxina wrong?

There was only one way to be sure.

I started as something occurred to me. “I’m calling your bluff, Praxina,” I announced.

Praxina’s eyes narrowed. “What?”

“Whatever happens to your host happens to you, too,” I said. “If Chloe dies, you die right alongside her, right?”

“You don’t know what you’re saying,” Praxina hissed, pressing the blade closer to her throat.

“Chloe, forgive me for this,” I muttered under my breath. I threw my shuriken.

Praxina howled as the blade tore through her bicep, leaving a huge gash that cut almost down to the bone. She crumpled to her knees.

“Every Ephedian princess’s power manifests itself differently,” I said. “Depending on what her most powerful manifestation is, certain emotions can trigger the effects of her magic.”

As I approached Praxina, I opened my hand. Suddenly, I was holding a white wand with a teardrop-shaped diamond on the tip. “Princess Iris’s most powerful manifestation is love,” I continued. “And so is mine.” I lowered the wand and pointed it at my enemy. “ _Crystal Expeldium!_ ”

A ray of magic a blinding, purest white erupted from my wand and spiraled toward Praxina. “ _No!_ ” she wailed.

Then the glow grew, filling the room, and there was silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why is it that I ended this chapter pretty much the same way as the last one and it doesn't feel like nearly as much of a cliffhanger?  
> So, yeah, there's the background on Ashley's brother who died. Remember last book, when she was talking to Adrien for the first time? She kind of just glossed over it, but I wanted to add more about him.  
> There are a few reasons that Simon's death affected Ashley so much. First, there's the traditional survivor's guilt, where she just keeps thinking "Ah, why couldn't it have been me?" In addition, she also had superpowers and was still unable to do anything to save him, so she feels like she failed, especially since that was her very first time becoming Kylina. Secondly, Ashley constantly has about seven foster brothers, but at the time, Simon was her favorite. Plus, he was her actual brother. She said earlier that her parents couldn't have kids, but Simon was their miracle child. It was devastating for the whole family, but Ashley was affected more than her parents because she thought she had the opportunity to save him and lost it.  
> See how much pain I add to the lives of my characters I create? That's balance for ya. Or karma...  
> Too dark? OK, that's fine, I'll just leave now...  
> Thank you so much for reading! Have fun and stay safe!


	13. Kylina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Sugarcubes! Lots of drama last chapter, but now we're taking a break. Enjoy!

I was back in my panda costume. I wasn’t sure how I had de-transformed, but I was glad I had. I wasn’t sure if I was easier to recognize in my princess form.

From the floor, Chloe groaned. “What happened?” she asked drowsily. “The last thing I remember is standing on the balcony…. What’s going on?” She looked up and scowled in confusion. “Why am I at the school?”

“You were being controlled,” I explained gently. “Don’t move your arm. It’ll only damage it further.”

“Huh?” Chloe looked down at her arm, the wound on which was so deep that it had probably severed enough nerves that she hadn’t felt it. Nevertheless, it had soaked nearly the entire right half of her torso in blood. She screamed. “My jacket!” she shrieked. “It’s _ruined_!”

I rolled my eyes. Of _course_ Chloe would care more about the state of her clothes than her life. “Hold still,” I told her. I spread my hand out over her injury and hummed softly. Thankfully, the healing spell worked.

Chloe gaped at the gash on her arm as the skin slowly grew together and faded into a pale white scar before disappearing altogether. She looked up at me with a combination of shock and outrage on her face.

“If you tell anyone, I swear to God, Chloe…” I said warningly.

“Why couldn’t you have done that to my jacket?” she demanded furiously.

I huffed in exasperation, then heard a hollow, muted pounding from near the door. I turned to see Ladybug and Cat Noir staring at me expectantly. “Right,” I muttered to myself. I held up my hand toward them. “ _Crystal Solvenda!_ ”

The scarlet crystal dissolved for a second time, and my superhero friends came tumbling in. “Aww, man!” Cat Noir said, looking around the now-empty classroom. “You could’ve at least left us something to work with!”

“Then you would have ended up like him,” I said, gesturing to the back of the classroom, where Caleb was still trapped in his crystal prison.

 _Caleb._ I crossed the room to him and rested my hand on the crystal surrounding him. Even through the red translucent rock, I could still see his breathtaking blue eyes, frozen wide with surprise. “Maybe I should just leave him here,” I said uneasily. “It might be safer for him.”

“It’s your call,” said Ladybug.

I thought about it carefully for a moment, then inhaled deeply. “ _Crystal Solvenda!_ ”

Caleb’s cocoon dissolved, and he fell toward the desk, just catching himself in time. He seemed dazed for a moment, as though he’d just been abruptly jarred from a deep sleep, then looked up at me. “Kylina?”

“It’s a long story,” I said smoothly, though on the inside I was violently warring with the urge to throw myself on him and cry. “I need you to find a safe place and stay there until I give the all clear. There’s something much bigger than it seems at stake, and I don’t want anybody to get caught in the crossfire who doesn’t need to. Take as many people as you can with you.”

Caleb blinked, as if it was taking him a minute to process my instructions to him. Then he smiled boldly, looking to me like the perfect example of the brave knight in the fairy tales. “You can count on me.” He left the classroom, courage in each stride.

“That was _amazing_ , Kylina!” Ladybug said once Caleb had gone. “You actually did it!”

“Thanks,” I said, “but don’t get too excited just yet. This fight is far from over.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, Chloe, same.  
> Not really. But it's just so Chloe of her to say that, right?  
> Not much I can provide for notes today, so I'm just gonna leave it here. Have fun and stay safe!


	14. Praxina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The villains make their next move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, guys! Welcome back to The Panda Princess! Today, we're inside Hawk Moth's lair, where... well, you'll just have to find out for yourself. Enjoy!

“No!” I howled in frustration.

“What happened?” asked Hawk Moth.

“I’ve lost the connection!” I growled. “That little _princess_ activated her damn earrings!”

“So she’s more powerful?” Hawk Moth’s eyes narrowed.

I forced myself to control my temper. Save the rage for when it could actually be used. “No. Her mask and weapons disappeared when she transformed.”

“Her mask disappeared?” said Hawk Moth eagerly. “Did you see who she was?”

“How should I know?” I snapped, rolling my eyes. “I don’t care who any of those damn kids are.”

Hawk Moth’s face fell. I huffed. “ _Who_ she is doesn’t really matter. The _important_ thing is that she can only use one power at a time.”

“What are you saying?” Hawk Moth asked, his ice-blue eyes glimmering with malice.

“I’m _saying_ that she can only be either Super-Kylina or Princess Kylina,” I said. “She can’t be both.”

Hawk Moth smiled darkly. “So we’re still even with the superheroes, then?”

“Better,” I replied. “Losing that bratty girl was nothing more than a minor setback, that’s all. Little do those silly _heroes_ know that this time, they’re going to be outmatched.”

“I thought you said they had found out just now,” said Hawk Moth.

“They were _starting_ to,” I corrected him. “They never wrapped their stupid little heads around the clearly obvious truth.”

“We haven’t got them outnumbered,” Hawk Moth pointed out.

“No,” I admitted. “But we _are_ greater in power. Don’t underestimate the princesses, my friend. As much as I hate to admit it, they _are_ strong. And strong is exactly what we need.

“There’s just one thing missing from our plan, though,” I went on. “An army. Luckily, that is something I can provide. You have the akuma?”

Hawk Moth smirked and held up his cane. One of his beautiful dark creatures fluttered about inside the purple orb.

“Make sure you have that other one ready,” I added. “Before we begin, I want Princess Iris. She will make a lovely addition to our collection.”

Hawk Moth nodded in agreement, and the purple mask that he used to communicate with his akumatized slaves appeared over his eyes. “Moonstone, Crystal Star,” he said. “You know what to do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my goodness, I LOVE writing Praxina's chapters SO much! I just LOVE writing from the perspective of a villain, it makes this so much more interesting. Maybe I should try writing a whole story from a villain's POV, only it won't be like a redemption arc or anything. Just plain old EVIL that is SO MUCH FUN to write!  
> I've noticed as I get further into this book, it slowly gets more deserving of its rating. I'd just like to apologize to the younger readers out there, if there are any. I was not intending to ruin your childhoods.  
> Also, ANOTHER CLIFFHANGERRRRRRR!!!!!!! Love them so much!  
> Thank you guys so much for reading! Have fun and stay safe!


	15. Kylina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The heroes discover the truth of their warning-- but the horrors are only just beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Sugarcubes! I hope you enjoyed the last cliffhanger, because you're getting ANOTHER one today! (Sorry, this part is just SO GREAT for cliffhangers!) Enjoy!

I took a sharp intake of breath. There it was again. The feeling. Only this time, it was stronger.

“We have to go,” I said. “Balance is failing. And something’s about to happen that will make it even more chaotic.”

“Is the Oracle coming?” asked Ladybug.

I shook my head. “She usually takes at least six weeks to ‘cool off’.”

“How do you know something’s wrong, then?” Cat Noir asked, raising an eyebrow.

I showed him my bracelet. “It changes to reflect the state of balance,” I explained. “And at the moment, it doesn’t seem like it’s doing too well.”

Cat Noir nodded firmly. “We have to stop it.”

“We’re going to need help,” I said. “It wouldn’t look like this unless the problem was extremely severe. We’re going to need _all_ of the others, including the princesses.”

“The princesses?” Cat Noir repeated, perplexed. “Why?”

“Chloe was being controlled by that woman in red, Praxina,” I said. “ _And_ she had an akuma with her. That can only mean--”

“She’s teamed up with Hawk Moth,” Ladybug finished with an expression of frightened shock.

I nodded. “Exactly. And only Ephedian magic can defeat her and her tixons.”

“Speaking of the princesses,” said Cat Noir, “where _are_ they? Shouldn’t Iris’s necklace have warned her about Chloe?”

I frowned. That _was_ true. “Come to think of it,” I said, “I haven’t heard from Talia all day.” I checked my civilian phone, which I kept separate from me whenever I transformed just in case I needed it. “That’s strange. She was supposed to text me twenty minutes ago, and she’s _never_ late.”

“You don’t suppose something happened to them, do you?” said Ladybug anxiously.

I shook my head. “I don’t know.”

“If something _had_ happened,” said Cat Noir, “that weird purple cat-thing of theirs would have warned us, wouldn’t it?”

“Not if something had happened to him, too,” I said uneasily.

My phone buzzed in my hand, and a news notification icon appeared on the screen. Apprehensively, I clicked on it.

The blood drained from my face when I saw the footage. At the base of the Eiffel Tower, a stage had been set up for the concert tonight. Atop it, all three Ephedian princesses had transformed, but something wasn’t right. The white accents on Talia’s and Auriana’s dresses had turned black, and their orange and blue colors had darkened to dangerous tones. Together, they were locked in battle with Iris, who, although holding her own pretty well, seemed to be tiring.

“What happened?” Ladybug gasped.

“Hawk Moth must have got to them,” I said, my stomach twisting into a horrified knot. “They’ve been akumatized.”

“And by the looks of it, Iris is about to be, too!” Cat Noir yelped, pointing.

It looked like he was right. An akuma hovered just at the edges of the screen, waiting.

“We never caught it!” Ladybug exclaimed, staring at me frantically.

“We have to hurry,” I said, tossing my phone on the desk. “If we lose Iris, too, we may _never_ be able to restore order!”

We must have set a record. It took us only ten minutes to retrieve the other Miraculouses and recruit Rena Rouge, Carapace, and Queen Bee before rushing to the Eiffel Tower.

It wasn’t fast enough. By the time we reached them, Iris was on her knees, looking devastated, while Talia and Auriana grinned with malicious triumph over her. “No!” I screamed desperately as the akuma neared her necklace, but to no avail.

Violet bubbles enveloped Iris, and all I could think of was Heroes’ Day last year, when I had been too late to save the freed innocents, too. When she stood, her dress had turned black and dark purple, and her eyes shone with malevolent glee.

My blood froze, and I stared in horror. “Ephedia help us all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CLIFFHANGERSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!  
> I don't understand my obsession with cliffhangers. I just love them SO FREAKING MUCH!!!!  
> In case any of you were wondering, the akumatized forms of the princesses are actually canon. I based them off of the evilized versions of them that appeared in LoliRock. Each of them in separate episodes turn evil for one reason or another (Spoiler: It's always Praxina's fault), and I used those as my templates for their akumatized identities. I did include something I found online where it's basically just the character design for each of them, as you can see at the very end of the chapter there. Just in case you're having trouble visualizing.  
> Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! We're getting a lot of action next time, so fingers crossed that it doesn't suck! Have fun and stay safe!


	16. Kylina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The princesses have succumbed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Sugarcubes! This was one of my favorite chapters to reread, because I felt like I nailed Cat Noir a lot better than in other parts of my works. Let me know if I'm completely deranged for thinking this. Enjoy!

“Behold!” the evil Iris announced, her voice a hundred times louder than it should have been. “We represent our masters, who demand that the superheroes relinquish their Miraculous!”

“Iris, Talia, Auriana,” I pleaded. “I’m begging you, please don’t do this! You’re being manipulated!”

The three evilized princesses hissed. “Those are the names of dead girls,” Auriana snarled. “From now on, I will be called Moonstone!”

“My name is now Crystal Star!” announced Talia.

“And I,” said Iris, a mad grin on her face, “I shall be known as Diamond Halo!” She raised her arms to the heavens and laughed. Then she looked back at us, her eyes burning into mine. “Turn your Miraculous over to us, and you will die painlessly.”

“I’d rather go with the other option,” said Cat Noir.

Diamond Halo arched an eyebrow at him. “You would prefer to die from battle wounds? I suppose you _would_ perish heroically, in that case.”

“No, the _other_ other option,” said Cat Noir. “The one where we capture your akumas and kick your butts.”

Diamond Halo smiled. “Your enthusiasm really is adorable,” she said. “Is there no way I can convince you to be my pet?”

“Nope,” Cat Noir said flatly.

Diamond Halo sighed sadly. “Shame. I was really hoping to adopt a pet kitten.”

“Don’t you already _have_ a pet?” said Queen Bee.

“Amaru is mine and mine alone!” Moonstone growled.

“Well, where is he?” asked Queen Bee stupidly.

Moonstone smirked and raised her arms. Slowly, a bear-like beast the size of twenty football stadiums rose up behind her.

“You just _had_ to ask,” Rena Rouge grumbled under her breath.

“Listen,” Ladybug said to the other heroes, calling for a small huddle. “I know things look really bad right now, but we _will_ beat them. We have to. Nothing is impossible!”

But it seemed like this was. The akumas could only be in their magic jewels, and they were so _small_. Sure, it was possible that we could try and disable them, but there were Ephedian spells that could allow them to escape, and besides, they had each other.

But I couldn’t give up hope. I was _Kylina_ , for God’s sake, the defender of balance, the princess of Delphia! I couldn’t just stand idly by and hope for the best!

“We’ll take each of them two on one,” I said. “The akumas will be in their individual jewels. Rena Rouge, Carapace, try to get to Moonstone’s ring. Cat Noir and Queen Bee, go for Crystal Star’s bracelet. And Ladybug,” I added, turning to her, “you’re taking Diamond Halo, with me.”

The other heroes nodded firmly. “Only one question,” Cat Noir said. “Why can’t _I_ fight with Bugaboo?”

I giggled and patted my best friend on the head. “My sweet, lovesick kitty,” I said. “No offense, but your flirting would probably aggravate _both_ ladies to the point that they’d want to kill you.”

“Aww…”

I turned back to the Jewel Trio. “We can do it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to change the princesses personalities quite a bit in their akumatized forms. Normally, Talia is quite level-headed and no-nonsense. Crystal Star, on the other hand, has derailed a bit, and uses her superior intelligence in a very cold and calculating way in order to cut them down. Iris is kind and thinks things through quite a bit, sometimes a little too much. Diamond Halo is entertained by the notion of killing, is quite bloodthirsty in a way, and is a little mad, as you can see. (I like to add madness to my favorite villains, as you will see in later books. Mostly because I like to replicate the mad scientist laugh.) And then there's Auriana. She's whimsical, a little ditzy, and she doesn't really find too many things very serious. Meanwhile, Moonstone... "ThOsE aRe ThE nAmEs Of DeAd GiRlS!!"  
> ...Ookay then...  
> I enjoyed a lot about the heroes in this chapter, too. Cat Noir's "OTHER other option," and then of course describing Queen Bee as asking a question stupidly. It's always fun to use that word to describe what someone is doing, but it never feels right to be using it for someone other than the character who's speaking. Not in this case!  
> Sorry if I went too deep into the Queen Bee thing there. I would like to point out, however, that this is just about the first chapter I've ever written where I feel like I can safely say, "Adrien, your Cat Noir is showing!" I mean, of course it's showing because he's Cat Noir right now, but this is the most he's ever acted like Cat Noir in the movies here... Yeah, I think you get it.  
> Thank you so much for reading! Have fun and stay safe!


	17. Kylina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, Sugarcubes! We're almost three-quarters of the way through this book! Enjoy!

We couldn’t do it.

We _thought_ we could. We _believed_ it was possible. We had faith.

But this wasn’t _The Little Engine That Could_. This was _real life_ , and currently, it seemed like we wouldn’t be dealing with the _life_ part much longer.

The princesses’ powers were intensified by their akumas, and the jewels, which were already incredibly tough, had become nearly indestructible. The only thing I could think of that would destroy them was Cat Noir’s Cataclysm, and he could still only use that power once.

Diamond Halo cackled as I hurled my boomerang in her direction. “Foolish girl!” she said. “Don’t you realize you could have this same kind of power? I could take you back to Ephedia as my pupil. You could reclaim the throne of Delphia! All you have to do is follow me!”

“Iris is the princess of Ephedia, not Diamond Halo!” I countered, barely avoiding a rogue midnight-blue crystal. “I only follow her!”

“Your loss,” Diamond Halo said with a shrug. “I could have mentored you. You could have learned from the best.”

“If you returned to Ephedia like this,” I said, “how long would it be before someone took your throne from you, just like you did to Gramorr?”

“Perhaps Gramorr was on the right track,” Diamond Halo retaliated. “He _did_ have a very successful pupil.”

“What?” I said, confused. A pupil? Who on Ephedia--?

I stopped, nearly getting hit by one of Diamond Halo’s spells, which was only barely blocked by Ladybug’s yoyo. Of course it would be her.

The earth began to tremble. “Get down!” I screamed. My friends and I made it to safety just as the ground beneath our feet split open and hundreds of black and scarlet butterflies burst from the gaping hole below. They swarmed together in a menacing horde above our heads.

Praxina cackled from the center of the cloud of tixons. “So it’s a fight you want, _Kylina_?” she sneered, throwing my own words to her earlier today back at me. “Then it’s a fight you’ll get!”

“Don’t let them touch you!” I shouted as a portion of the scarlet army of butterflies descended upon us, looking eerily similar to the akumas I’d seen on Heroes’ Day last year.

“Why not?” Carapace called back, glaring at the wicked insects. “I’m not afraid.”

“Carapace!” cried Rena Rouge, shoving him out of the way as a tixon came flying at him. As she did, however, the butterfly touched her instead.

“Rena?” said Carapace worriedly as Rena Rouge slumped to the ground. When she got to her feet, she slowly turned her gaze on him with bloodred eyes.

“Rena!” Carapace exclaimed. “What happened? What the _hell_ did that thing do?”

Rena Rouge said nothing as she turned toward him, as frighteningly silent as a possessed doll from a horror film. She lunged at him. Carapace was much stronger than her, but fighting her off took all of his concentration. He didn’t notice the tixon approaching him from behind.

And then he was lost, too.

“I thought Praxina could only possess one person at a time!” Ladybug called.

“She can,” I replied. “But she can make others do her bidding.”

The problem with this was now, Moonstone was free. She leapt toward Cat Noir, red-orange spell circles on her palms.

“Look out!” Queen Bee yelled. She shoved him out of the way. As it was, it was her feet that were frozen in crystal instead of his.

Moonstone laughed as a tixon fluttered toward a struggling and panicking Queen Bee. “No, no, no!” she shrieked, staring at the butterfly with horror in her eyes that I had never seen there before. “Please, not again--!”

Her cries were cut short by the tixon making contact with her skin. Her head dropped, and Moonstone removed her crystal trap.

“Kylina!” Ladybug said desperately. “Can you do that thing again?”

“I don’t know!” I said, feeling close to tears from the fear in my chest. “I’m not sure if it can expel more than one at a time!”

“Well, it’s gonna have to,” Cat Noir said, his face pale. “Look!”

I wasn’t sure I wanted to, but I looked anyway, and my face paled to match my friend’s. An army of civilians had gathered close to the stage. All of them had vacant expressions and red-tinged eyes.

“Retreat!” I yelled.

“Are you sure?” said Cat Noir, looking torn between obeying me and trying to fend them off.

“We have no choice!” I said. “It’s either retreat and come up with a new plan, or we become part of that army!”

Cat Noir finally nodded, though it seemed like a hard decision for him to make.

We had to evade Praxina’s whirlwind of tixons in order to get to the point where we could manage to escape. As we approached, Ladybug’s face lit up with an idea. “I’ll be right back!”

“What are you _doing_?” Cat Noir and I screamed as she ran straight for the hurricane of evil butterflies. She bent backward and slid straight underneath it, scooping something up from the ground before rejoining us in our escape. She was somehow okay. Putting off chewing her out in favor of running for our lives, I turned a corner, and the three of us hid in a tight alleyway, listening anxiously for sounds of pursuit from our enemies.

“Where did they go?” Crystal Star growled furiously.

“Let them be,” Diamond Halo said dismissively. “They’ll be back. In the meantime, let’s retrieve the other jewels.”

My blood froze from the terror. Then I heard Queen Bee’s voice say, “Leave them. I rather like this one.”

I tensed in anticipation. Could Praxina’s preference for Chloe as a host protect her and the others’ Miraculous?

“Yes, Mistress,” Diamond Halo finally relented.

I let out a low sigh of relief as their voices faded. Then I turned on Ladybug. “What the _hell_ were you thinking?”

“I saw--”

“You realize we could have lost you, too, right?” I interrupted her. I was too angry to let her speak yet. “We can’t defeat them without you and your Lucky Charm!”

“I’m sorry,” Ladybug said. “But--”

“ _Sorry_ doesn’t cut it!” I snapped. “What could _possibly_ have been so important--”

“This!” Ladybug said, thrusting out her hand to me. Resting in her open palm was a simply-braided circle of red twine.

I stared at it. “What’s that?”

“Praxina dropped it,” Ladybug replied meekly. “It lit up when I looked at it. I thought-- I thought it might be able to help us.”

I gawked at it, stunned. “It _can_ help. More than you might have realized.” I took the thing, then glanced at Ladybug, my anger stamped violently down by this revelation. “It’s a miracle you didn’t touch any of those tixons. You’re absolutely brilliant!”

“I don’t understand,” said Cat Noir. “How is _that_ supposed to help us beat Praxina?”

“It can tell us her weakness,” I said, placing the twine circle on the ground. I breathed deeply. “I just hope this works.” I held out my hands toward Praxina’s item. “ _Crystalocum Ostendere!_ ”

A white magic circle appeared on the ground below the twine, which floated into the air. A white sphere enveloped the twine, and the image of a young man with burgundy hair and green Ephedian clothes appeared on the surface.

“Who is that?” asked Ladybug.

“Mephisto, I’ll bet,” I said. “He must have given this to her. But I don’t understand. How is _that_ supposed to--?”

As if in answer to my unfinished question, the white sphere vanished and was replaced by a small, pulsing ball of golden light. I gasped as I recognized it.

“What is it?” Ladybug asked.

“A locator sphere,” I breathed. “But-- how? Mephisto died six years ago! It shouldn’t be possible--”

The locator sphere began to float away.

“Follow it,” said Ladybug. “It might be able to help.”

“But-- what about you?” I said. “I can’t just leave you guys here to--”

“Don’t worry,” said Cat Noir. “We can deal with them ourselves, for a little while. You did the same for us on Heroes’ Day last year, didn’t you? Now it’s time for us to return the favor.”

I bit my lip. I wasn’t sure if they’d be totally fine by the time I returned. Then again, would it really matter if I came back with the key to saving _everyone_ from Praxina?

I nodded. Then, unable to stop myself, I pulled my friends into a hug. “Be careful, okay?” I whispered, suddenly on the verge of tears. “I don’t want to lose either one of you to that little witch, you understand?”

“Don’t worry about us,” Cat Noir said again. “You’re going to save Paris again, just like last time.”

It was funny that he had mentioned Heroes’ Day. It was strange, how similar our situation was to that fateful day a year ago, when I had first joined the fight against Hawk Moth. It was uncanny how much this moment echoed of those precious few minutes in and out of the sewers.

“I’ll be back soon,” I promised, pulling away. “ _Please_ don’t get yourselves killed while I’m trying to save the world.”

“We’ll do our best,” said Ladybug with a small smile.

I nodded. Then, hoping I knew what I was doing, I touched the golden orb.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUUN!!!!!!!  
> But Mephisto's dead, right? This is all a trick, right? You'll have to wait till next time to find out!  
> That's all I have for notes today. Not much for me to talk about anyway, but I hope you enjoyed! Have fun and stay safe!


	18. Ashley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ashley discovers Praxina's weakness-- and another Forgotten Miraculous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Sugarcubes! I don't want to hold you up here for too long, so why don't you just enjoy?

I opened my eyes. My costume had disappeared (a munching sound from my purse told me Mistry was okay), and from the looks of it, I had teleported… somewhere.

It was pretty chilly, which wasn’t all that surprising, seeing as I appeared to be high in the mountains. There was a little snow dusting the ground, and on the side of a distant mountain, I saw a grizzly playing with her two cubs.

“Mistry, I don’t think we’re in Paris anymore,” I mumbled.

I pulled out my phone and opened my GPS. “Twin Lakes, Alaska?” I read incredulously. “Why are we _here_?”

I knew a bit about Twin Lakes. Caleb’s mom used to turn on a documentary about it whenever I slept over to knock us out. I knew there were grizzlies and big-horned sheep and 30-below winters. It was the home of those who wanted to push the meaning of “go it alone.”

But the location of Praxina’s weakness? I certainly hadn’t seen _that_ in _Alone in the Wilderness_.

But the locator sphere must have brought me here for a reason. I looked around and realized I was standing less than twenty feet away from a sturdy log cabin. There was smoke coming out of the chimney. I decided to go with my gut and knocked on the door.

The door opened a crack, and a single green eye glared at me through the gap. “You’re not Pete.”

“Very observant of you,” I grumbled. “I’m looking for someone. Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“I don’t talk to anyone,” the man said. “Get lost, kid.” He started to close the door, but I blocked it with my foot.

“I’m not leaving until I get some answers,” I said stubbornly. “Please, sir, I’m--”

“I don’t know who you are and I really don’t care,” said the man. “Goodbye.” He pushed my foot out of the way and started to shut the door again when I noticed his burgundy hair.

“It’s about your sister,” I blurted out.

The man paused. “I don’t have a sister.”

“I think you do, actually,” I said. “Praxina. She’s in Paris, and she’s causing chaos and destruction. Please, Mephisto, I need your help.”

He started when I said his name, then frowned at me. “Who _are_ you?”

“I’m like you,” I said, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear to show him my earrings. “Ephedian. Let me in, please, Mephisto. The fate of the world depends on it.”

He hesitated. Then the door opened enough for me to enter.

“How did you find me?” Mephisto asked. He looked quite a bit different from the image I’d seen in the locator sphere. His hair was ragged and untidy, and his Ephedian clothes had been replaced by a green flannel shirt and old, worn-out jeans. The smooth face in the sphere had been covered with rough burgundy stubble.

“It’s a long story,” I said. I told him about Praxina arriving in Paris with the other princesses, how she thought he was dead. I was just starting to tell him about the Miraculous when my bracelet burned. I jumped. “You have one, too.”

“I’m sorry?” Mephisto looked like a toddler caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

“You have a Miraculous, don’t you?” I said. “The Frog. Where is it?”

Mephisto paused, then pulled a curved pink pin that resembled a frog’s tongue out of the pocket of his shirt. “I’ve never actually used it,” he admitted. “I sensed its power and thought the best thing to do would just be to keep it safe with me.”

“You did the right thing,” I told him. “This is great! Now we can have another superhero fighting Praxina with us!”

“Hey, I didn’t agree to this yet,” Mephisto said quickly.

“But you have to,” I said, bewildered. Why wasn’t he jumping at the chance to help his sister? “We can’t face her by ourselves!”

Seeing that he was going to need a little more persuasion, I decided to put my silver tongue to use. “Mephisto,” I said, looking him straight in the eye, “your sister believes you’re dead. Joining us is the only way you can ensure that she comes back to you, like before. She _needs_ you, Mephisto. Do you think it was a coincidence you found the Frog Miraculous when she needed help? She needs you to do this, so can you? For her?”

Mephisto hesitated. Then he nodded. “For Prax.”

I grinned. “Perfect.” I gestured at the frog-tongue pin. “So, where’s your kwami?”

Mephisto seemed to look annoyed when I mentioned the little creature that would give him more power. He cleared his throat, then bellowed, “TAXX!”

A little green creature with large bulging eyes on top of its head came zipping toward Mephisto. “Yes, Master?”

“So you’re Taxx,” I said, approaching the little creature. It bore an uncanny resemblance to a Froakie Pokemon. “Mistry’s told me so much about you.”

“Ah, so you’re Mistry’s owner,” said Taxx. “Yes, I sensed that she had been found.”

I looked at Mephisto. “So, has he told you how to use it?”

“Sort of,” Mephisto said. “Some of it was kind of difficult to understand--”

“What’s difficult about it?” demanded Taxx, suddenly much more hostile. “You say, ‘Taxx, hop to it,’ you transform, and after you use your Golden Dart, you can’t use it again until after you’ve recharged me!”

“Well, you didn’t really dumb it down like that when you said it the first time!” Mephisto protested.

I repressed a giggle. The Frog was the Miraculous of toxicity, which really seemed to come through in Taxx’s personality. Respectful and harmless one second, angry and hostile the next.

“Want to try it now?” I asked. “It might be kind of weird the first time, but--”

“Taxx, hop to it!” Mephisto announced.

The next second, Mephisto wore a green and yellow suit with a matching mask, and a pouch of gold darts hung on his hip. “Pretty cool,” he said, flexing his fingers and observing his costume.

“Have you thought of a name?” I asked. “We kind of try to preserve our identities in Paris.”

Mephisto thought about it. “I’ll be Leapfrog,” he finally decided.

“Great,” I said. “And you can call me Kylina.” I held up my bracelet. “Mistry, paws up!”

I turned to my new superhero ally. “Come on,” I said. “I’m pretty sure I’m gonna need some help with that teleportation spell.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whaaaaaaaaat? Mephisto's ALIVE? WHO could POSSIBLY have predicted THAT twist?  
> It was pretty obvious in the show that when Mephisto "died," he didn't really die. I mean, would it seriously be THAT easy to kill off someone who could both fly AND teleport? I don't think so!  
> And then the addition of the Frog Miraculous. Remember when Ashley mentioned it in the last book, when she was talking to Marinette about why she came to Paris? Just like with Simon, she just glossed over it, but it turned out to be very important. This is a pattern that will continue throughout this series, so keep an eye out for any more of these seemingly-unimportant mentions throughout the books.  
> Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Have fun and stay safe!


	19. Kylina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylina returns to the battle-- but she is greeted with a nasty surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Sugarcubes! We've got a new superhero, and now he's ready to join the fight! Mephisto's redemption, activate! Enjoy!

We appeared off to the sides of the battle, which had resumed and intensified greatly. Ladybug came to my side.

“You’re back!” she said, sounding relieved. She paused. “Who’s your friend?”

“This is Leapfrog,” I said. “I’ll explain later.” I frowned, noticing something strange. “Where’s Cat Noir?”

Ladybug’s face fell. “They-- they got him,” she said, sounding as though she was trying hard not to cry. “She was about to get me, but he jumped in the way, and now--” She broke off with a dry sob.

“It’s fine,” I said, even as my heart crumpled at this news. “We’ll get him back. I think I know how to stop her.”

Ladybug looked up at me, surprised. “You do?”

“She doesn’t look quite the same as she did a week ago, remember?” I said. “I’ll bet you anything she’s been akumatized, too. And if we break whatever’s containing it--”

“Everyone will return to normal,” Ladybug finished, realization dawning in her eyes. “Brilliant!”

I turned to look at Leapfrog. He was like a statue, staring at Praxina’s still form amid the swarm of tixons, his face white as a sheet. “You okay?” I asked him.

He nodded. “Fine.” His eyes darted away from his sister. “She’s changed so much since I saw her last…”

I patted his arm consolingly, feeling that it was the right thing to do. “It’s all right,” I said. “We’ll get her back, I promise.”

It felt somewhat strange that I, a barely sixteen-year-old sophmore, was comforting a twenty-three-year-old man, but Leapfrog smiled gratefully. “Thank you, Kylina.”

“Any time,” I said. “Now let’s go.” As Ladybug nodded, appearing reassured by my confidence, I strode toward the princesses.

“Ah, so the prodigal princess returns,” Diamond Halo said cheerfully as I emerged. “And I see you’ve brought a new plaything for us.”

Leapfrog stiffened at being called a “plaything,” but I ignored her. “Save it, Pinkie Pie,” I said. “I don’t plan on letting you keep this up for much longer.”

“How funny! _I_ do.” Diamond Halo leered at me, a mad glint in her eye. “I actually wish to grant you the honor of being the first to perish at my hand.”

“Tempting,” I said. “But I’d rather try to stay alive until college, thanks.”

“That solution is not yours to decide.” Diamond Halo conjured a broadsword from thin air.

“I’ll be the judge of that,” I retorted. Diamond Halo braced herself to block my boomerang as it left my hand, but I wasn’t aiming for her.

“Mistress!” Moonstone wailed. A fiery crystal shot from her hand, hitting the boomerang and diverting it away from Praxina’s body.

Queen Bee appeared below Praxina’s still form and snarled. Her crimson eyes rolled back into her head, and she fell to the ground as Praxina’s head snapped up. “So that’s the way you want to play, is it?” she said.

The tixons dispersed as Praxina soared toward me, but she was intercepted by Leapfrog. “Praxina!” he shouted desperately.

Praxina growled and lashed out at him. “Get off me!” she shrieked.

“Prax, please, don’t do this!” Leapfrog begged. “It’s me!”

“Stop this foolish rambling!” she screamed. She tried to cast some sort of spell, but Leapfrog blocked her. In a flash, they were locked in single combat, shooting red and green crystals at each other so quickly that it was hard to see who was attacking and who was defending.

But this was no time to just look on. I had to figure out where Praxina’s akuma was, as well as defend myself against the Jewel Trio and tixonized army. The only good news seemed to be that Praxina’s swarm of extra tixons seemed gone for good.

I rolled back to avoid a bruise-colored crystal and ended up with my back against Ladybug’s. Without a word, I began twirling my bamboo rod like a baton while rotating in a slow circle to keep myself protected from all sides. Ladybug did the same, spinning her yoyo around and around, while I whipped my head back and forth to keep my eyes on Praxina.

“Now might be a good time for that Lucky Charm,” I said through gritted teeth as I scrutinized the woman in red.

Ladybug nodded. “Lucky Charm!” she called, throwing her weapon into the air.

A set of costume jewelry fell into her hands. “How is _this_ supposed to help?” she said, bewildered.

I wasn’t really paying attention. Amid the chaos of Christmas-colored crystals, I’d noticed a deep violet pin on Praxina’s cloak. “Cover me!” I called to Ladybug before lunging toward the twins.

“Prax, look at me,” Leapfrog pleaded. “Don’t you recognize me?”

“ _Recognize_ you?” Praxina spat. “You insolent fool! I’ve never seen you before in my life!”

Leapfrog looked crushed. Then his face was set in hard determination. “Then you leave me no choice,” he said. “Taxx, detransform.”

His costume vanished before I could scream at him that this was a terrible idea. By some strange phenomenon, his Ephedian clothes appeared instead of the outfit he’d been wearing back in his cabin. With that change, aside from the stubble, he looked exactly as he had in the locator sphere.

Praxina stumbled back, her eyes wide with shock. “M--Mephisto?” she stammered.

Mephisto nodded, and it looked like he was tearing up a little with emotion.

Praxina grabbed at a nearby telephone pole for support. “No,” she gasped. “It can’t be.”

“It’s really me, Prax,” said Mephisto. “I’m sorry I didn’t try to find you before. Please, come back to me. I need my sister.”

Praxina looked like the world had been yanked out from beneath her feet. For a moment, it looked as though she might throw her arms around her twin brother, though it was unclear whether it would be to hug or strangle him. Then, suddenly, a raging fire filled her eyes, and she threw Mephisto back with a huge crystal wall. “You think this is _funny_?” she screeched. “I don’t know how you managed this without your little fox friend, but I can still see straight through your illusions, you disgusting little creep!”

I seized my opportunity and lunged at Praxina. I tore the pin off her cloak and encased it in white crystal before hurling it to the street below, where it shattered into a million tiny pieces. “No!” Praxina shrieked as Ladybug caught the black and purple butterfly that emerged from the remains of her jewel.

The loss of her concentration was just what we needed. The tixonized army slowly blinked, then looked around in confusion, as though wondering what they were doing here.

Cat Noir appeared at Ladybug’s side. “Nice job, milady,” he said. “I knew you’d be able to get us back quickly.”

“It’s not over yet,” said Ladybug. “I still have no idea what to do with this.” She held up the costume jewelry, then frowned at me.

“What?” I asked.

“I need you,” she said. “But-- I don’t understand. The jewelry’s not lighting up….”

Realization dawned on me. “It’s not that jewelry,” I said slowly. “It’s mine.”

“What do you mean?” asked Cat Noir, evidently confused.

I stared at my bracelet, marvelling at all the unlocked potential it contained, which I would soon have to tap into.

“I’m going to have to combine my Miraculous with my Ephedian powers.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a few things to touch on here.  
> First of all, Praxina's akumatization. She has a limit to how many people she can tixonize under normal circumstances. She can only control as many people as she has the focus to control. Under normal circumstances, this is only about three or four. However, these are not normal circumstances. Hawk Moth's akuma allows her to broaden her mind so that she has the time and energy to concentrate on hundreds of tixons at a time, which makes it possible for her to cause this destruction. If she had been ready for Kylina to de-akumatize her, she would have been able to focus on just a few people she wanted to continue controlling, which would have made it possible that Kylina would have had to find another way to save her friends because Praxina would most definitely choose the heroes under her control. However, she was taken by surprise, so her entire concentration was broken, freeing everyone from her control. By the time she was able to focus again, it was too late, and there was no one left under her control. She doesn't have any more tixons, either, so the only thing she has left is her crystal powers. Lucky for her, though, she's extremely powerful in those. Still, Leapfrog IS her twin, and he knows most of her strategies, so, go Mephisto!  
> Speaking of Mephisto, it may seem strange that Praxina doesn't believe it's really him. But you've got to think about it through her eyes. Would YOU have believed it if someone you thought was dead for years suddenly showed up out of the blue, alive? Probably not.  
> As for Mephisto not looking for his sister all those years, he was scared. He never knew how the war on Ephedia turned out because he fled, and he was afraid that his sister would learn of his turning against Gramorr and abandon him. To prevent this, he abandoned her first. I know it's a crappy move on his part, but again, he was scared.  
> And finally, I'd like to freak out at Ladybug a little bit because THE FRACK YOU'RE CRYING BECAUSE PRAXINA GOT TO CAT NOIR HOW THE CRUD YOU NOT REALIZE YOU LOVE HIM?!?!?!?!?!?!  
> ...Okay. It's out of my system.  
> Thank you so much for reading, guys! Have fun and stay safe!


	20. Kylina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylina must fuse her magic jewels together-- but is it possible?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Sugarcubes! Welcome back to The Panda Princess! Please enjoy!

Ladybug and Cat Noir stared at me. “What?” Cat Noir asked eloquently.

“I can only use my superhero powers _or_ my Ephedian powers,” I explained. “I’m going to have to cast a spell that will enable me to use both.”

“Is that even possible?” asked Ladybug.

“I don’t know,” I said uneasily. “It has to be, though, right? I mean, the Lucky Charm never lies.”

“But _how_ are you going to do it?” asked Cat Noir.

Ladybug hurriedly scanned our surroundings. “With him,” she said at last. She pointed at Mephisto, who had changed back into Leapfrog and resumed fighting Praxina.

“Can you do it?” Cat Noir asked me, sounding unsure.

“I have to try,” I replied. “Get everybody else and fight the princesses the same way we did last time. Ladybug, do you think you can hold off against Diamond Halo by yourself for a while?”

“I’ll try,” she said. “But you’ll have to hurry.”

“I will,” I promised. “Go find the others. Now.” We split up in our own separate directions.

I got to Leapfrog and began casting defensive spells of my own against Praxina. “I need to ask you something,” I said to him.

“Can it wait a minute?” he said, his brow furrowed in concentration-- or irritation. “I’m a little busy at the moment.”

Praxina scowled at us. “I’ll let you two _talk_ ,” she snarled, “but remember this, _princess_.” She spat my title as if it was poison in her mouth. “I won’t soon forget this disgusting bit of trickery of yours.” She vanished in a cloud of crimson smoke.

Leapfrog stared, heartbroken, at the spot where his sister had disappeared. I placed my hand on his arm. “She’ll be back,” I said, knowing it was true and not looking forward to that day at all. “We’ll find her, and I promise we’ll make her see the light. But first, I have to ask you something.” I explained what I had to do.

Leapfrog frowned thoughtfully. “I remember Gramorr mentioning a spell,” he said slowly. “It was supposed to fuse royal jewels together, which sounds kind of like what you’re trying to accomplish. He never managed to attempt it, though.”

“Do you think it could work?” I asked.

“Possibly,” Leapfrog said. “But it would require a lot of power.”

I thought about that. I was hardly the most powerful Ephedian princess who had ever existed. I hadn’t even gone through my Shanila phase yet. But if the Lucky Charm had said this was what needed to happen, I must be able to do it.

“It’s a good thing I’m the princess of Delphia, then,” I said, “because apparently, I _do_ have enough power for that spell.”

Leapfrog told me the theory of the spell, and I raised my hands, ready.

“Wait,” he said at the last moment, stopping me. “Gramorr had several minions attempt this spell so he could be sure it was safe. It didn’t end well for any of them. You do realize that if you fail, the consequences could be disastrous.”

“Better than seeing Hawk Moth win,” I said firmly. I focused on my bracelet and earrings, and a white magic circle appeared over my palms. “ _Crystal Fusion: Malancia!_ ”

At first, there was nothing. Then a bright flash of light exploded from my hand and knocked me off my feet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, there was nothing. Then:  
> "The Romans went BAFF!!"  
> At least, that's how I see it.  
> I know it may seem strange that Ashley hasn't gone through her Shanila yet. (For those of you who are unfamiliar, Shanila is the phase an Ephedian princess goes through when she's ready to advance to the next level of magic. During this stage, her hair falls out and she's left with almost a pixie-cut until she reaches the next level of her magic.) She was able to cast the expulsion spell, but her Shanila would have only kicked in the next day. So basically, she first has to save the world and THEN she'll wake up tomorrow morning with half the amount of hair on her head. Lucky duck!  
> Thank you so much for reading! Have fun and stay safe!


	21. Delphian Kylina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylina has succeeded with her spell-- and now the battle can really begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Sugarcubes! Finally, we reach the climax! Please enjoy!

My boomerang and bamboo rod were still attached to my back. The black ears still stuck up off the top of my head. I felt my face and discovered I was still wearing my mask.

But my suit had been replaced by the white dress I’d summoned earlier today. The white boots had reappeared, and the long fingerless gloves had come back as well. My hair had turned white again, though it was only as long as my waist now, and the glittery cape had shortened as well, the ends now brushing the backs of my knees rather than my heels.

“Wow,” said Leapfrog. He gawked at the combination of my two costumes. “Kylina, you… actually did it!”

I stared at my new/updated outfit. I couldn’t see myself from the third-person perspective, but I guessed I looked pretty hot.

“I can’t believe it,” I muttered.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Leapfrog demanded. “Go on and save the world!”

I nodded and surveyed the battlefield. Rena Rouge and Carapace were facing off against Moonstone, and Queen Bee was helping Cat Noir in their fight against Crystal Star. Ladybug seemed to be the one having the most trouble. Diamond Halo was our most powerful adversary, and she seemed to be on the brink of overpowering Ladybug.

“Follow me,” I said to Leapfrog before rushing toward my first chosen opponent.

“Get the civilians back!” I shouted to Rena Rouge and Carapace. “Then go help Ladybug. I’ve got Moonstone!”

My friends nodded and ran off to obey. Moonstone laughed. “Poor, naive little princess,” she said. “Do you really think you’re any match for _me_?” She raised her arms, and the monstrous Amaru-beast came to her side.

“ _Right…_ ” I said. “Forgot about that.” I turned to Leapfrog. “Think you can take him?”

“I’ll distract it,” he replied, pulling a dart out of his pouch. “You get to the ring!” He leapt over Moonstone, higher than most of the other heroes probably could, and began shouting at the Amaru-beast.

“No more hiding behind your little pet, Moonstone,” I said. I grabbed my boomerang with one hand and summoned a throwing star in the other.

Moonstone shrugged. “Fine by me. I don’t really care who gets to kill you.” I only just managed to evade a chamber of fiery-orange crystal as it sprouted up under my feet.

She attacked. I parried. I threw. She blocked. I didn’t seem to be making much more progress than Rena Rouge and Carapace had. Leapfrog’s battle against the Amaru-beast didn’t seem to be going much better. It wasn’t long before I realized just how dumb I was being.

Catching my boomerang after it missed Moonstone yet again, I opened the little hatch on the end. “What kind of new powers does this thing have?” I demanded as I scrolled through the user’s guide.

Moonstone cackled. “Not as smart as you thought, are you?” she said. “Did you really think putting on both costumes at once would help you?”

Then it hit me. Maybe it was my _Ephedian_ powers that were enhanced.

“ _Crystal Immobilus!_ ” I shouted, the correct spell somehow just popping into my mind.

Moonstone was thrust onto her back, her wrists and ankles bound to the ground by white crystal. She tried to cast a spell to free herself, but the spell appeared unbreakable except by myself. She screamed in frustration.

I stepped up and stood right above her. “Nowhere to run now, huh, Moonstone?” I said. I reached down and tugged at her ring, but it seemed glued to her finger.

Moonstone laughed. “Don’t you know _anything_? Ephedian jewels can’t be removed from their princesses!” She grinned triumphantly.

But I had a backup plan. “Sorry, Auriana!” I said apologetically. I slammed my foot down on Moonstone’s finger-- hard.

Moonstone shrieked in pain. I winced at the odd angle her finger was bent at, but it had done the trick-- an akuma flew from the broken halves of the ring.

Ladybug’s yoyo quickly swung around to catch the parasitic butterfly as Moonstone curled up into a defeated ball. A second later, Auriana sat moaning on the ground. “What happened?” she groaned. “Ow, my finger-- my ring! Oh, no!” She reached for the pieces of the ring with her right hand before yelping in pain. Tears sprang to her eyes.

I picked up the broken ring and handed it to her. “I’m really sorry, Auriana,” I said, genuinely guilty about both the ring and her finger. “It had to be done.”

“It can’t be fixed!” she wailed. “I won’t be able to help you!”

“Ladybug can fix it,” I said, “but we have to defeat the others first. We only have a few minutes left.”

Auriana nodded, then yelped again as she leaned on her broken finger.

“Hold still,” I said. I carefully took her finger in my hand and hummed. Auriana’s finger slowly straightened out. It was mended as quickly as Chloe’s arm had been.

“Stay safe,” I told her. “For Volta’s sake.”

She shook her head. “I may not be able to transform, but I can still use my magic.”

Seeing that she wasn’t going to back down from this, I sighed. “Fine. But you should ride Amaru and only fight from above. You’re in no condition to overexert yourself.”

Auriana nodded, and I turned my head. “Leapfrog!”

He appeared next to me, a slightly dazed Amaru in his arms. “He changed back when the ring broke,” he said.

“He must’ve been akumatized with Auriana.” I took Amaru from him and held the purple creature at my eye level. “Listen closely, bud. I need you to fly above the battle with Auriana. Do everything she tells you, _except_ put her down in the middle, got it?”

Amaru saluted. He jumped out of my hands and transformed into the purple pegasus the princesses had been riding when we met them a week ago.

“Seriously, what _is_ that thing?” I muttered as Auriana mounted him.

As Auriana and Amaru vanished, I turned back to Leapfrog. “On to Crystal Star.”

As we approached Cat Noir and Queen Bee fighting Crystal Star, I noticed a mass of black energy around my roommate’s hand. “Cat Noir!” I cried in dismay.

“How else was I supposed to break it?” he argued.

I focused on his ring. Thanks to my newly-enhanced vision, I could see that he still had four paw pads left.

“Go help Ladybug!” I called to Queen Bee. “We’ll take her!”

Queen Bee nodded and zipped off to join the rest of our friends. “Hey!” Cat Noir protested. “What about me?”

“You summoned your Cataclysm,” I said. “Might as well put it to use.”

Crystal Star leered at me. “So you defeated Moonstone,” she said. “Big deal. Have you forgotten that I am far more experienced?” She shot a torrent of sharp crystal at me.

I ducked to dodge her attack. “ _Crystal Immo--_ ”

I was interrupted by Leapfrog shoving me to the ground as a midnight-blue bolt of magic came flying directly at my head. I realized that Crystal Star would know my fighting style best out of the three princesses. She was the one who had trained me. In order to beat her, I’d have to do something completely unexpected.

The only problem was, I was very predictable.

As I was considering this, Crystal Star raised her hands. “ _Crystal--_ ”

An orange ribbon entwined itself around her elbow and yanked it upward. I looked up to see Auriana, clutching the other end of the ribbon, winking at me. I gave her a thumbs-up in return, then sent a bolt of magic at Crystal Star that encased her entire lower body in white crystal. “Cat Noir!” I shouted. “Her bracelet!”

Cat Noir pressed his hand to the Xeris talisman. It crumbled into half a dozen pieces, which fell to the ground with a metallic clatter.

I left Auriana to make sure Talia was okay and turned to my companions. “We have to hurry,” I said. “If we don’t defeat Diamond Halo in about four and a half minutes, Ladybug will transform back, and we may never be able to repair the jewels.”

I thought Diamond Halo found it easy just to fight the two most powerful Miraculouses in existence. Against the top four, it was no different. Rena Rouge clutched her stomach as she leaned against the demolished stage for support, Carapace struggled to free his shield from the concrete, and Queen Bee tried in vain to pull her feet out of a mound of dark crystal.

Diamond Halo yawned, looking bored. “I’ll admit, I’m a little disappointed,” she said. “I thought you’d be more entertaining adversaries.”

“That’s because you haven’t faced me yet,” I announced.

Diamond Halo raised an eyebrow at me. “Didn’t I beat you already?”

“You beat regular old Kylina,” I corrected her. “Now, prepare to face the _new_ Kylina, princess of Delphia, defender of balance, and the girl who’s about to kick your ass.”

“You’re stealing my lines,” Cat Noir muttered to me out of the corner of his mouth.

Diamond Halo shook her head ruefully, smiling sadly. “Oh, child,” she said. “Do you think you have any sort of _real_ power? Your kingdom is gone.”

“What does that matter?” I said.

Diamond Halo clicked her tongue at me. “Didn’t you know? A princess’s power comes from the kingdom she rules.”

Without warning, she slammed her hands on the ground, creating a wall of crystal that trapped Ladybug and Cat Noir like mosquitoes in amber, along with the other defeated heroes.

“Gramorr conquered Delphia sixteen years ago,” she continued, walking leisurely toward me. “He burned the palace to the ground. There is nothing left of it now. The lack of a kingdom makes you powerless, my dear.”

Leapfrog charged toward her, brandishing a dart like a tiny spear. Diamond Halo knocked him out of the way with ease, sending him flying into the ruins of the stage. He gave no indication that he was breathing.

“I, on the other hand,” she went on as if nothing had happened, “am the princess of Ephedia. The most powerful of all the royals!”

Desperate, I threw my boomerang and shurikens at her, but she caught them and threw them to the ground before encasing my entire body up to the middle of my ribs in sinister, dark magenta crystal. “I have an army that would burn their homes to the ground if I asked them to. I have friends and allies who would throw themselves off the top of the highest mountain if I desired it. And you might as well consider these pathetic Earthlings my subjects, too, for I have them all wrapped around my little finger.”

She bent down to be at my eye level. Her breath had the sickly-sweet scent of poppies. “I have _everyone_ , and that gives me power. But you?” She smiled cruelly. “ _You have no one._ ”

“Kylina!” called Talia from the sky. Diamond Halo didn’t hesitate to immobilize her friends in crystal, never looking up from my face. To my relief, Amaru, untouched by Diamond Halo’s spell, was able to get them to the ground safely, but then he was trapped, too, as Diamond Halo got him as well.

“And now,” Diamond Halo crooned, tracing the line of my jaw delicately, like an art critic examining a particularly interesting sculpture, “you, will perish, right here, by my hand, friendless and totally alone.”

I struggled to maintain my focus. She was twisting the truth, making me doubt. I couldn’t let her do that.

But why, then, did it make so much sense? I had never been able to accomplish much on my own. Back in New York, I had only been your “friendly neighborhood superhero,” as Peter liked to call it. The most I had ever done was save a few people from being crushed by construction equipment.

Here, I had done greater things, but never by myself. I always had Ladybug and Cat Noir by my side. _They_ were the real heroes. I was little more than an occasional sidekick.

I turned my head, hoping to get one last look at the world.

And then I saw him.

Caleb.

He was peeking out from inside an elevator near the base of the Eiffel Tower, surveying the scene with a look of incomprehension on his face. He must have decided to get closer to the action. I should have expected him to ignore my instructions completely.

If I died, he would be one of the first to follow.

I couldn’t let that happen.

I inhaled a shaky breath, then met Diamond Halo’s eyes, determined to show her I wasn’t afraid.

“You’re right about one thing,” I said. “Gramorr _did_ burn Delphia to the ground, and supposedly all its people with it.”

Diamond Halo frowned, clearly wondering where I was going with this.

“But Delphia isn’t truly gone,” I went on. “It will never be, so long as its princess survives, and its legacy lives on. Because Delphia is not a place. Delphia is a people.”

“You have no people,” Diamond Halo sneered. “You are alone.”

I shook my head. “Wrong again,” I said. “Look around. There are so many people here who support me, who love me. I will never be alone.”

I tapped into all the pent-up feelings inside of me-- my despair for Simon and the Delphians, my fear for the safety of my friends, my anger that I couldn’t do more to save them. Most of all, I touched on my love for Caleb, my determination to keep him safe, to prevent any harm from coming to him. I embraced the love I felt for him in so many ways-- as a friend, my family, a person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I translated these hidden emotions into my magic, a dome of protection over the ones I loved. And a moment later, the dark crystal fell away from my body.

“How!” gasped Diamond Halo, backing away from me.

I looked down. My entire body was glowing a blinding, pure white.

“Leave everyone else out of this,” I said to Diamond Halo, echoing my words to Praxina in the classroom. “This is between you and me.”

Diamond Halo snarled. “You’re going to regret this.”

I ignored her. I called on the power of Delphia, of all the princesses who had come before me, and pointed my hands at my enemy. “ _Crystal Devitus!_ ”

Diamond Halo threw up her hands just in time to block the white beam of light shooting from my palms. She struggled for a minute, then pushed the spell back toward me with a dark ray of magic. “Where are your friends now?” she yelled gloatingly as her curse inched toward me.

 _Think of everyone who will have to face the consequences if you give up,_ I thought, blocking her out. _Alya. Nino. Mom. Dad. The boys. Marinette. Adrien._

_Caleb._

A shout built up in my chest and burst out of me as I poured all my strength into the spell. The white bolt shot back away from me and hit Diamond Halo. There was an explosion of light, and I was blinded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, so much information!  
> First, the battle that ensues between when Ladbug used her Lucky Charm and that point right there at the end took MUCH longer than five minutes. That's because the heroes have grown up a little. In Timetagger, it's revealed that the time limit disappears when the user of a Miraculous becomes an adult. Therefore, I thought that as the heroes get older, the time limit would stretch and stretch until it disappears completely. Right now, the time limit for the heroes is fifteen minutes, leaving enough time for the battle to happen without Ladybug transforming back.  
> Next, I know Moonstone's statement about Ephedian jewels being impossible to take from the princesses who own them technically isn't true. I think it's the second episode of LoliRock when Iris loses her necklace (spoilers). However, Iris was caught by surprise then, so... They can't be removed from the princesses when they're paying attention. ThereIsaiditit'struenownotakebacks!  
> Another thing, both Kylina's Ephedian abilities AND her Miraculous abilities are enhanced by the spell. If she'd used her Scales, she would have received a much stronger hint than usual, and balance would have been tipped to her side in a much more intensified way. However, she didn't need to use her Scales because she's SO FREAKING OP RIGHT NOW!  
> And then I just wanted to point out one of my little Easter eggs in there. Kylina references someone named Peter when she's being taunted by Diamond Halo. Peter is her best friend from New York, but I'm just going to leave it at that and let you guys try to figure it out.  
> Finally, I just needed one of those spell-clashing things that you get in all the best fantasy books. They always look SO COOL, and I knew I just had to have it here between Kylina and Diamond Halo.  
> That's all I have for today. Hope you enjoyed! Have fun and stay safe!


	22. Delphian Kylina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the battle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Sugarcubes! We have finally reached the end of the battle! Enjoy this chapter!

I panted on the ground, desperate for air. What just happened?

Hundreds of tiny pink shards from Iris’s shattered pendant lay scattered all over the ground. In the center of the carnage, Iris was on her knees, healed of the damage caused by the akuma.

I wanted to make sure she was okay at once, but there was no time. I crossed to the crystal wall that had trapped Ladybug and Cat Noir. “ _Crystal Solvenda!_ ”

The crystal evaporated, and Ladybug threw her arms around me. “I knew you could do it!”

“Thanks,” I said, “but let’s hold off on the compliments for now. You’ve got less than a minute left.”

“Right.” Ladybug threw the spotted costume jewelry into the air. “Miraculous Ladybug!”

In a flash, all the crystal in the area had vanished. The stage and concrete mended themselves, and Auriana and Talia shouted gleefully, beaming at their repaired jewels.

I picked up Iris’s newly-fixed pendant and knelt down next to her, holding the necklace out to her in offering. “I believe this is yours,” I said with a slight smile.

Iris blinked, then accepted the heart-shaped gem, smiling gratefully. “On the behalf of all of Ephedia, thank you,” she said.

“Kylina!” Talia gasped, approaching me and Iris. She was gaping at me. “You-- you look just like Queen Amberly!”

I looked down. My hair had grown about two and a half feet, so it cascaded down my back to my ankles like a silky white waterfall when I stood. My cape trailed behind me like a bridal veil. I reached up to find that I was wearing a silver crown with teardrop-shaped diamonds implanted at the tips.

“You skipped over your Shanila entirely,” Talia breathed, awestruck. “No princess has _ever_ done that before!”

I shrugged. “I guess I’m pretty special.”

Talia appeared at a loss for words. She shook her head wordlessly, then noticed Leapfrog. “Who’s this?”

Leapfrog suddenly developed a very strong interest in his boots.

I laughed nervously. “Yeah, um, funny story, actually…” I told her about the locator sphere.

All three princesses’ jaws dropped. “But-- but--” Iris stammered. “How did you survive the fall?”

Leapfrog rolled his eyes. “I can fly. _Duh._ ”

Iris blinked, rendered speechless by his powerful argument. Then Talia turned to me. “Kylina, could you come talk to us super fast, please?”

I didn’t need the Oracle to know what was on her mind. She and the other two princesses pulled me aside. “Did you _give_ him that Miraculous?” Talia asked.

“No,” I replied. “He found it ages ago.”

“Why didn’t you take it back, then?” she demanded.

“We needed all the help we could get,” I said. “What’s your point?”

“My _point_ is, do you really think it’s a good idea to trust him?” she said. “This is Praxina’s _brother_ we’re talking about.”

“In case you didn’t notice,” I said, rising to my new friend’s defense, “he was the one fighting Praxina off.”

Talia opened her mouth to say more, but before she could, Iris placed a hand on her shoulder. “Let’s give him another chance,” she said. “People can change, can’t they?”

Talia hesitated, then sighed. “I guess you’re right,” she mumbled begrudgingly.

I smiled in gratitude, then approached Leapfrog. “You’re welcome to go back to Alaska now,” I told him. “And you can keep the Miraculous if you want.”

Leapfrog hesitated, then shook his head. “Call me crazy, but… I want to stay here. I know it may seem insane, but I want to help get my sister back.”

I smiled. “That’s not crazy at all.”

“Yipe! Look at the time!” Iris suddenly yelped, staring at her watch. “We’ve got to get ready!” She looked at me. “If there’s anything we can do to repay you, don’t hesitate to ask.”

I thought about it. “Actually… could you use a backup singer?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always wondered why the creators of LoliRock thought we would buy Mephisto being dead. I mean, like he said, he can FLY. I guess some might argue that the rock that knocked him off the cliff also exploded, but the dude can also TELEPORT. I mean, is there any way he COULDN'T escape?  
> Then there's Talia being so skeptical of Mephisto. I mean, they all suspected that Mephisto was starting to turn against Gramorr, but they didn't know for sure, so Talia's still a little eh. However, she will come to trust him a lot more in the future, and maybe their friendship will become a little bit more...? Any other Talisto shippers out there?  
> And lastly, can I just point out what a genius Ashley is? This is her ticket to fame right here! Genius child!  
> (BTW, I kind of did hint at this in the last book. When Ashley is being introduced to Alya and Nino, Caleb mentions what a good singer Ashley is. Again with the most obscure of foreshadowing.)  
> Thanks so much for reading! Have fun and stay safe!


	23. Marinette

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and her friends go to see LoliRock's concert, where Ashley has a few surprises up her sleeve.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Sugarcubes! We are almost done with this story! All we have left is an epilogue and that's it! Enjoy!

[ _Mood Music: Higher (LoliRock)_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Xo_wGxp07o)

This. Was. The best. Day. Ever!!

Not only was I going to see a live concert-- with front row seats, I might add-- that one of my best friends was performing in, but I also got to spend the entire time sitting next to Adrien! _Sigh…_

“This is so exciting, isn’t it, Marinette?” my breathtaking crush asked me. “Ashley gets to sing with LoliRock! How cool is that?”

“Yeah…” I said dreamily. “It’s just gorgeous-- I mean, great! It’s great for her!”

“She told me she wanted to pursue a career in music,” Adrien went on. “This’ll be a great opportunity for her future.”

“I’ll say!” Alya said eagerly, holding up her phone to find the best position to record the concert. “One of _my_ classmates, performing live with an internationally-famous band! I wonder how she got to do it?”

“Oh, uh, gee, that’s hard to say…” I said with a nervous chuckle.

“Here they come now!” exclaimed Adrien, pointing.

And there they were. Iris, Talia, and Auriana, all wearing show-stopping costumes, followed closely by a similarly-dressed Ashley, who didn’t look nervous in the least, with a dominant stride and confident smile. She looked like she was right at home onstage, in front of millions of people.

“Good evening, Paris!” Iris called out into her microphone. The crowd screamed back. “Before we get started, I’d like to introduce our special guest singer, Ashley Benoit!”

The crowd screamed excitedly as Ashley waved, taking the cheering in her stride.

“Ashley is a high school student here in Paris,” Iris said, “and my friends and I are extremely impressed with her incredible talent. We can’t wait for you all to hear her sing with us! Let’s give her a hand!”

Adrien and I cheered extra-loud for our friend as Ashley took a bow.

“This first song is dedicated to the heroes who rescued me and my friends earlier today,” Iris announced. “This one goes out to you, Ladybug and Cat Noir!”

This was, what, the third time a song had been dedicated to me at a concert? I was touched, and relieved that the darkness in the crowd disguised my blush.

And then the four princesses of Ephedia began singing, and I lost myself in the music.

* * *

After the concert, Adrien, Alya, Nino, and I all headed backstage to congratulate Ashley on her performance.

“I can’t believe they gave you a _solo_!” Adrien exclaimed after he and Ashley had finished their overly-elaborate secret handshake. “How were you able to memorize all that so fast?”

“Years of practice,” Ashley replied smoothly. “And perfect pitch, too, I guess.”

“That was so great!” Alya said, tapping busily on her phone, undoubtedly posting the video of the concert to several of her many blogs. “This is gonna go viral!”

“My singing wasn’t even the best thing that happened tonight,” said Ashley with a sly smile. “Iris got a video chat from her boyfriend in California just now.”

“And?” I said, as Iris stepped out of the dressing room, looking blissfully dazed.

Ashley squealed and dragged Iris over to us by the left hand. “Look, look, look!”

A silver ring glittered on Iris’s ring finger, a pale pink, heart-shaped diamond set into the center of the band.

“You’re _engaged_?” I gasped, smiling even wider. “Congratulations!”

Auriana and Talia came out of the dressing room; it appeared that they had been listening at the door. “I _knew_ this would be the perfect opportunity for him to propose!” Auriana squealed, wrapping her arms around Iris from behind.

Iris shook her head distractedly, staring at the engagement ring with delighted tears in her eyes. “I don’t get it,” she whispered blissfully. “I don’t deserve him.”

“Actually, you’re the _only_ one who does,” said Ashley. “ _Please_ tell me you’re gonna get married in New York. I’ve _got_ to be there!”

Alya glanced at her phone. “No! My battery’s dying!” she moaned. “I gotta charge it. BRB!” She hurried out, Nino following close behind her.

Someone grunted. I turned to see Adrien’s bodyguard glaring at him. The bodyguard tapped his watch, and Adrien sighed. “Sorry, guys. My father won’t want me to stay out too late.”

“You go,” Ashley said to the bodyguard, who was frowning impatiently at her. “It’ll take me a while to clean up. I’ll call when I’m finished.” The bodyguard nodded and left with Adrien.

When the door shut behind them, Ashley squealed again. “I’m sorry,” she said in a gleefully apologetic tone. “I just can’t contain myself! Are you gonna take him back to Ephedia to be your king? Oh, _please_ tell me you’re gonna make him the king!”

“I haven’t decided yet,” Iris said.

“Speaking of Ephedia and decisions,” Talia said before Ashley could get going on an inevitable speech about why Iris should make her fiance the king of a faraway planet, “do you know what you want to do about Delphia?”

Ashley sobered up quick. “I think I’d rather wait a little longer,” she said. “I don’t want the people of Ephedia to know about me before I’ve decided what to do about ruling.”

“What do you mean?” asked Auriana. “You’d come back with us and start your reign there, silly!”

“It’s not that simple,” said Ashley. “Everyone I’ve ever cared about is here on Earth, and I haven’t even finished school yet. Besides,” she added with a wink at me, “who would take care of the Panda Miraculous?”

“We’ll tell you if anything comes up with Praxina,” I promised.

Iris nodded. “Then I guess I might see you at the wedding.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I just love writing Marinette's chapters. I LOVE writing about her crush on Adrien! Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure this is one of the last chapters in the series that's told from Marinette's point of view, and there's only one or two more, so, sadness. :'(  
> On the other hand, there's what Auriana was talking about in the beginning! I'm sure several of you probably suspected that Auriana was saying the trip to Paris would be the perfect opportunity for Nathaniel to propose, so if you did, kudos to you! I know proposal over video chat and several time zones is hardly the most romantic way to propose, but at least no one would expect it, right?  
> For Ashley's thing, yes, her singing ability is based on my own. I do have perfect pitch (For those of you who don't know what that is, it's basically that you could play any note on any instrument and I could tell you what the note is. My friends call me the human pitch pipe. There is something similar, called relative pitch, but the difference is that relative pitch is taught. I was born with this talent, so it's perfect pitch), and I have always been incredible at memorization, especially with music. Play me a song once, and I can guarantee I will at least be humming along with it the second time through. I usually only have to listen to a song four or five times through before I have almost the entire thing memorized.  
> In more Ashley news, Marinette notes that Ashley looks totally at home on the stage. This is also based on myself. My mother choreographed high school shows up until I reached middle school and would take me to rehearsals, so I was kind of raised in a high school auditorium. I've been performing ever since I was seven years old, and I have always been immune to stage fright. Because of this, Ashley is, too.  
> I hope you've enjoyed this chapter! Just an epilogue and then we're done! Have fun and stay safe!


	24. Epilogue: Praxina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meanwhile, the villain of our tale...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Sugarcubes! We've reached the end of The Panda Princess! Please enjoy this last addition to the story!

I growled at the little gathering of the princesses and their teenage friends. All this _joy_. It was sickening.

Iris and the other two would be returning to Ephedia soon, I heard them say. This barely registered with me. It wasn’t _those_ princesses I was after anymore.

I kept thinking back to that moment when that frog-boy had changed into my brother. I couldn’t believe that Kylina girl could pull a horrible stunt like that!

I’d abandoned Hawk Moth soon after the battle. He was of no more use to me. He’d already told me all I needed to know.

He’d told me about Ladybug and Cat Noir’s Miraculouses. He’d told me about the power to shape reality that one would receive when the two jewels were combined. He’d told me about the ability to make any one wish come true.

There was no way he could want that more than I did.

“Get your kicks in now, _Kylina_.” Her name tasted like venom in my mouth. “One day, I _will_ get your Miraculous, and your little friends’ too. And on that day, I will bring my _real_ brother back. You can count on that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! PRAXINA'S OUT FOR REVENGEEEEEE!!!!!  
> Pay attention to this. This is gonna be, like, THE most important thing in the next book. There will be a LOT of important stuff, but this is especially important.  
> Thank you SO, SO much for reading this! If you've gotten to this point, it means you've made it through not one but TWO books full of my rants. Thank you so much for supporting me throughout this series!  
> But this story isn't over yet. Just like with the last book, I will be adding a bonus short story after this. I hope you enjoy the first insertion of Ashley into a canon episode of Miraculous! Details will be released next time with the first part of the short.  
> I just want to thank you again for your support. I haven't finished the rough draft of the next book yet, so I may have to take a mid-book hiatus. In the meantime, I guess just binge-read the rest of the series? Or check out some of my other stuff! Have fun and stay safe!


	25. BONUS SHORT: Marinette (Chameleon)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ashley establishes her rivalry with Lila, as well as revealing the Oracle to Ladybug and Cat Noir for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Sugarcubes! I am so excited to be bringing you this bonus short for The Kylina Chronicles! This story is my insertion of Ashley into the Season 3 Miraculous episode "Chameleon." I came up with this short when I found all the things wrong with Lila's fibs in the lunchroom in that episode; it's actually where I came up with the idea of inserting Ashley into episodes as shorts. If you like this, let me know and I'll try to make a collection of Ashley inserts for you guys! Enjoy!

Giddiness. That’s what I felt the second I stepped into the classroom.

Sure, I was confused at first. I mean, no one was in their regular seats at all. But one of the only free spots was the seat right next to Adrien!

I crept up to Alya, who was sitting in her usual seat, talking to Nino, who sat right next to her. “You’re the _best_ , Alya!” I whispered to her. “How did you get everyone to move seats so I could sit next to Adrien?”

“Woah, hold on, girl,” said Alya. “What are you talking about? You’re not sitting next to Adrien. You’re seat’s back there.” She pointed at the back row, right behind the foreign-exchange kids.

“Back _there_?” I repeated, dumbfounded. “But… why?”

“Well, since she has a hearing issue, there’s no way she could sit in the back, right?” Nino said.

“So she came up with the idea of putting Mylene next to Ivan and Nath with Alix, and she also asked if Nino could sit by me so we could spend more time together!” Alya finished.

“But who’s _she_?” I asked.

Ashley walked in right then. It was almost comical how quickly her expression changed from passive to baffled. “Um… what?”

“New seating chart,” Alya explained. “But don’t worry. You haven’t moved.”

Ashley nodded, somewhat distracted, and came up to me. “Why?” she asked me.

“Someone with a hearing issue’s moved into the class,” I said. “But I’m not sure who--”

The door opened again, and Miss Bustier entered. “Students, I’m sure most of you have already heard, but Lila’s returned from her trip to Atchoo, and she’s back in class with us today!”

Lila came in just behind Miss Bustier. “Hi, everyone!” she said cheerfully.

“Hi, Lila!” my classmates called back brightly.

Ashley’s face abruptly molded into a scowl, and she snarled quietly. She hated Lila even more than I did, if that was even possible.

“I didn’t know you had a hearing problem,” I said in a falsely cheery voice as Lila sat down… right next to Adrien.

“Yes,” Lila said sadly. “I suffer from tinnitus, a constant ringing in my left ear. I’ve struggled with it ever since a jet engine burst my eardrum on a runway when I was saving Jagged Stone’s kitten.”

The class “Aww”ed in appreciation, but I wasn’t buying it. “Isn’t Jagged Stone’s pet a crocodile?” I asked innocently.

Lila laughed in that annoyingly-sweet way. “ _Now_ it is! But he used to have a kitten until he found out he was allergic to it.”

“Marinette, please take your seat,” said Miss Bustier. “We’re ready to begin class.”

I wanted to argue, but I knew it would be a faithless attempt. Lila had everyone wrapped around her little finger. I slouched to the back of the room and sat down behind Ashley and Caleb, smoldering with absolute fury at Lila’s lies.

“Class, please open your books to page 82,” Miss Bustier said.

As everyone pulled out their textbooks, Ashley whispered out of the corner of her mouth to me, “You were right. The kitten belonged to Jagged Stone’s assistant Penny until Fang ate it.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” I whispered back to her.

“Her lie’s too close to the truth. Besides,” she said with a sad smile, “who would they have believed? Lovable Lila, or me?”

She had a point. Ashley had been trying to lie low ever since Heroes’ Day to protect her Miraculous. She rarely spoke in class anymore, and most kids now saw her as just the shy American girl.

I took a deep breath to smother my anger. At least _somebody_ was on my side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WERUHQETWVUNQEVTWUOEVTWUIEAVUOREQMOISHUTUPLILANOBODYCARES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE FANDOM SENDS YOU THEIR WRATH GET THE CRAP AWAY FROM OUR ADRIEN SUNSHINE!!!!!!!!  
> Okay, it's out of my system.  
> But we're not even close to done with Lila. The next chapter... well, it was both fun and agonizing to write. It may be the same to read.  
> Hope you enjoyed the first part of this short! Have fun and stay safe!


	26. BONUS SHORT: Lila (Chameleon)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ashley establishes her rivalry with Lila, as well as revealing the Oracle to Ladybug and Cat Noir for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUUUUHHHHHHH, this chapter was simultaneously entertaining and excruciating to write. I love writing confrontations between Ashley and Lila, but... Lila. Just read, I'll just be over here trying not to scream.

“Here you go, Lila!”

“Here’s your main course, Lila!”

“And dessert!”

“Thank you so much, all of you!” I gushed sweetly. “I’m so sorry I can’t carry my own tray, but with this sprained wrist, it’s impossible!”

My classmates looked at me with adoring pity, and I smiled inwardly. These stupid kids were so easy to please!

“Tell us about your adventures in Atchoo, Lila!” Rose begged.

“If you insist,” I said, considering. Which of my many stories should I use? The meeting with the duke? The parade thrown in my honor? Oh, the starving boy never failed to please the crowd!

“Hey, Lila,” said a reproachful voice from across the cafeteria. Marinette was glaring at me, a crumpled-up napkin in her hand. “You forgot your napkin.” She lobbed the ball of paper at me.

My reflexes reacted before my mind did. I caught the napkin with ease, wondering what kind of game she was trying to play.

My classmates gasped, and my thoughts caught up with me. Right! My wrist was supposed to be sprained. “Ouch!” I cried, dropping the napkin and quickly making up a story. “Once while I was in India, I saw someone get their eye gouged out by the corner of a napkin. If I hadn’t caught it, Max could have gotten hurt!”

My classmates gasped again at the admittedly-ridiculous story, but this time it was in my favor.

“Lila! You saved my eye!” Max exclaimed, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. How stupid could these people get?

“Are you happy now, Marinette?” Kim said angrily, turning on Marinette. “Lila’s in pain now because of you!”

“No! Don’t get mad at her!” I said. _Not yet, at least._ “Marinette was just trying to give me a napkin. Right, Marinette?” I smiled sweetly at her.

There was silence as Marinette glared at me, unable to refute my statement without turning the class against her. As usual, _I_ was victorious.

“False.”

The unfamiliar voice was quiet, but it carried across the cafeteria with ease. I turned my head. The voice had come from someone at Marinette’s table, her face hidden behind a book. As she put the book down, I saw that it was the quiet girl from America who sat at the back of the classroom.

“Fact,” the girl said, her dark brown eyes boring into mine, “a napkin is not sharp enough to ‘gouge someone’s eye out.’ The worst damage it could do is give your eye a paper cut if you deliberately dragged the edge across your eye. Fact: the napkin would have had to be travelling at speeds up to sixty miles per hour in order to hit Max’s eye before he closed it. Fact: the solution in Max’s eye would have soaked the napkin and rendered it harmless. Fact: the napkin was crumpled into a ball; there were no exposed corners. Fact: Max is wearing glasses.”

I went stiff. Who did this girl think she was? She was smart, I’d give her that, but she was using her intelligence to do something as stupid as calling me out on my stretched truths!

But I could still preserve myself. “I wasn’t thinking about how Max was wearing glasses,” I said. “And I was _sure_ it was a napkin that injured that poor person’s eye. I guess I was wrong, though. I hurt my wrist for nothing.”

That did the trick. My classmates all began to fawn over my “injury” and offered to help me. It seemed like things would work out easily. Then that girl slowly got to her feet. “Fact: if your wrist was _really_ sprained, you’d be wearing a brace.”

And with that, she picked up her book and left.

* * *

She was in the bathroom when I found her.

It had taken me a little while to shrug off the girl’s comments about needing a brace, finally convincing everyone that my wrist was _almost_ healed, enough to take off the brace, but not enough to use my hand. Then I had excused myself from the adoring throng to look for the girl who had caused me all this trouble.

“Hello,” I said in an extra-sweet voice as I approached her.

The girl glanced at me in the mirror, looking unimpressed. Then she went back to washing her hands without a word, as if I hadn’t even spoken.

“I don’t think we’ve met,” I continued, unwilling to let this go. “My name’s Lila. What’s yours?”

“Ashley,” the girl said. “Ashley Benoit.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” I said cheerily.

“Can’t say that I agree,” Ashley replied shortly.

I held back my temper and struggled to keep my smile on my face. “You’re really smart,” I remarked.

Ashley shrugged, keeping her eyes trained firmly on the mirror. “I get that a lot.”

Why wasn’t she cracking? I continued smiling. “I was wondering-- would you maybe like to get together sometime? I could use some help on our Calculus assignment.”

Ashley huffed and finally faced me. “Look-- I don’t know if I’ve made it clear enough, so let me spell it out for you: _I don’t like you. We’re not friends._ So stop pretending you want us to be.”

 _There_ it was! I felt my real smile settle in, cocky, victorious, and maybe a little snarky. “Look, Miss America,” I said. “I don’t know who you are, but I do know this-- you _don’t_ want me for an enemy.”

“Well, it’s obvious that you don’t know me,” Ashley said, crossing her arms. “Having you as an enemy is _precisely_ what I want.”

“Then _you_ don’t know _me_ ,” I said. “You hardly have a reputation here. Well, I can and will give you one. It’s up to you to decide what kind. Accept my offer of friendship, and _everyone_ will love you. Refuse, and I’ll make sure not a day goes by when you don’t regret it.”

Ashley hesitated, and I smirked. “Come on, Ash. It’s not that difficult of a decision.”

Ashley seemed to make up her mind. She reflected my innocent smile back at me. “Thank you for your _oh-so kind_ offer,” she said sweetly, “but I’m afraid I have to decline.”

I drew back, stunned by her defiance. “You don’t know what you’re doing.”

“On the contrary,” said Ashley, “I know _exactly_ what I’m doing. I’m ridding you of your power, Lila. You rule in two ways: through lies and through fear. If you think someone is threatening your security as fan-favorite, you blackmail them into keeping their mouth shut. But I’m guessing this tactic only works on people who are actually scared of you deep down. Well, I’m about to drop a bombshell on you. I haven’t believed a single word you’ve said since I first saw you open your mouth, and I’ll be damned if I’m afraid of _you_. Therefore, you have no power over me.”

“You’re going to regret this,” I hissed.

“Am I?” Ashley said perkily. She walked past me to get to the door, but paused. She leaned next to my ear to snarl at me in a low voice full of venom and hatred. “By the way, _Ashley_ will do just fine.”

I stared after her as she left. One thing was for sure: She had just made a dangerous enemy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YASSSSS ASHLEY!!!! YOU GO GIRL!!!!  
> Ashley's whole "fact" scene was what inspired me to write this short in the first place. Marinette has the right idea, trying to expose Lila's dishonesty, but she goes about it the wrong way, just trying to tell people she's a liar without any proof. Ashley reveals hardcore FACTS that prove that Lila's tricking everyone. Unfortunately, everyone is so unwilling to believe that Lila is anything other than what they've been told that they choose to ignore Ashley.  
> I like to compare Lila to Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter. (Harry Potter spoilers ahead.) Both of them are villains that are impossible to like at all (if you do like Lila, then sorry, that's just how I feel), and they use questionable methods to obtain and keep power and get rid of threats to that power. However, one more similarity that I thought was less obvious is that both of them think high schoolers are stupid. Umbridge talks to the Hogwarts students like they're four years old, while Lila tells the most absurd stories and expects others to take her word as the gospel truth. Of course, the students at Francois-Dupont are fooled by these stories, but I just wanted to see how Lila would react to somebody like the fandom coming in and questioning her honesty.  
> That's all I have for notes today. Stay tuned for the next part of this short! Have fun and stay safe!


	27. BONUS SHORT: Ashley (Chameleon)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ashley establishes her rivalry with Lila, as well as revealing the Oracle to Ladybug and Cat Noir for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! Almost done with this short! Enjoy!

“Adrien?” I called into the seemingly-empty locker room. “Are you in here?”

Adrien had gone missing not fifteen minutes after my little conversation with Lila. I was still shocked that she would try and get me on her side, or even think that I would be willing to let her get away with her crimes. But I wasn’t afraid of her, or anything she said she could do, meaning I was impervious to her threats. What I _was_ afraid of was what might have happened to Adrien.

Because my bracelet was burning. And Cat Noir was nowhere to be found.

“Adrien?” I said again, a little louder this time. Again, I got no answer.

Wait-- there was something. Coming from Adrien’s locker. Was that… snoring?

“Dammit, Plagg!” I groaned. “We kind of need you!” I hurried to Adrien’s locker and opened it.

I gasped. Adrien was leaning against the inside wall of his locker, unconscious. He was snoring peacefully, as though he were sleeping in his own bed at home.

“Oh my God!” I exclaimed, dragging Adrien out of the locker. Plagg zipped out of his jacket as I did so. “What happened?” I demanded, glaring at the kwami.

“It was Lila,” Plagg explained. “She came in and started talking to Adrien, and then she put him to sleep with an evil kiss--”

“ _Eww!_ ” I gaped at Plagg with disbelieving disgust. “Lila _kissed_ Adrien?”

“On the cheek,” Plagg clarified.

I still didn’t like what I’d heard. “ _Ew,_ ” I said again. I covered my hand with the hem of Adrien’s jacket and started rubbing at his face to remove any Lila cooties she might have left there.

“Well, after she kissed Adrien, she turned _into_ him, and then she put him in the locker and he hasn’t woken up yet!” Plagg finished, sounding more fretful than I’d ever heard him before.

I growled under my breath. “I don’t _believe_ this.”

“She must have been akumatized,” said Plagg.

“I’m wondering if she wasn’t before,” I spat. “That little witch!” I moaned and pinched the bridge of my nose. “How are we supposed to wake him up?”

As if on cue, a gentle mist appeared over Adrien’s face, and he opened his eyes. “Ashley?” he said, confused. “What’s going on?”

“Lila’s been akumatized,” I explained, helping him to his feet. “Hurry up and transform! Ladybug needs your help, and if this keeps up for much longer, my bracelet’s gonna leave a serious mark.”

Adrien nodded. “Will you be helping us this time?”

“Are you _kidding_?” I stared at him in disbelief. “Lila’s got some kind of connection to Hawk Moth now. I can’t let either of them know about Kylina!”

“I guess you’re right,” Adrien admitted. “But what if--?”

My bracelet seared painfully, and I yelped. “Just go!”

“Okay, then,” he said without hesitation. “Claws out!” A second later, Cat Noir touched my shoulder. “Stay close, okay? Just in case.”

“Okay, I will, I will,” I said impatiently. “Now just go. Hurry!” I bit back a shout as my bracelet sent another painful flash of heat piercing through my skin.

Cat Noir nodded. Five seconds, and he was gone.

I whimpered through my teeth as my stomach twisted. My bracelet wasn’t the only thing causing me pain.

 _She_ wasn’t going to wait much longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just something I wanted to point out here. Ashley's bracelet is hurting her more than on Heroes' Day, but not because Chameleon is a greater threat to balance. The intensified pain is a reaction to the Oracle trying to possess Ashley, so she's always in a lot of pain just before she channels the Oracle. Most of the time, the bracelet is just a little warm when the Oracle comes, the heat just slightly uncomfortable. However, this is before the bracelet stops sensing regular akumatizations as huge threats, so the pain of the Oracle reaction is combined with the intense burning from the akuma. That, combined with the harsh pain in her stomach that the Oracle causes, makes this channeling especially excruciating for Ashley. Poor girl.  
> That's all I have for notes today. Next time, we'll be finishing off this short! Have fun and stay safe!


	28. BONUS SHORT: Kylina (Chameleon)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ashley establishes her rivalry with Lila, as well as revealing the Oracle to Ladybug and Cat Noir for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, Sugarcubes! Welcome to the final installment of our Chameleon bonus short! Please enjoy!

I breathed heavily, leaning against the wall in my costume. I didn’t _have_ to be transformed to let Her through, but I found it made bearing the pain a little easier.

Ladybug and Cat Noir had defeated Chameleon hours ago. I’d tried to help when Cat Noir had been put to sleep a second time, but the discomfort had made it unbearable.

“Adrien?” I called, then gasped at the pain from the effort.

“What’s--?” Adrien began, opening my door, but I cut him off with a moan.

“Oh my God, Ashley!” Adrien said, rushing to my side. “Are you--?”

“Stop,” I groaned. “Don’t ask questions. Not yet.”

“What do you--?” Adrien stopped, catching himself. “Tell me what you need.”

“Phone,” I gasped. He grabbed it for me and carefully placed it in my hand.

“Don’t look,” I warned him, then dialed Marinette’s number. “It’s me,” I breathed the moment the ringing stopped. “I need you… meet me… Eiffel Tower. The top. Hurry.” I hung up before she could ask me what was going on.

“Who was--?” Adrien started, but I interrupted him before he could set it off too early by accident.

“Ladybug,” I panted. “No… time. Help me out…. We need to go to… the Eiffel Tower. Transform. Need… both of you. Now.”

He was certainly efficient. Less than three minutes later, Cat Noir and Ladybug were watching me groan as if I was giving birth from the top of the famous landmark.

“What are you--?” Ladybug started.

“Don’t ask her any questions,” Cat Noir warned her.

“No,” I gasped. “Need… ask… what have they done. One of you. Quickly. _She’s_ … impatient.”

“Who are you--?” Ladybug began, but Cat Noir interrupted her. “What have they done?” he asked firmly.

“Film it,” I panted quickly, knowing how little time I had left. “Won’t… remember… need to know…”

And then I blacked out.

* * *

I’m not sure how long it was before I came to. All I know is that Ladybug and Cat Noir sure looked relieved when I did.

“Kylina!” Ladybug breathed, looking as though my waking up had removed a heavy load from her shoulders. “Thank goodness!”

“You passed out, and then you weren’t… yourself,” Cat Noir said. “That was really freaky.”

“Yeah, I know,” I said. I held out my hand. “Let me see the film.”

“What just--?” Ladybug stopped herself.

“It’s okay,” I said. “You can ask questions now.”

“Good,” said Ladybug, looking relieved. “Now what just happened?”

“That was the Oracle,” I said. “It’s a… special power of mine. Now, the film, if you wouldn’t mind.”

I knew I was being a little rude, but I also knew that whatever was on that film was essential information. Ladybug nodded and handed me her BugPhone.

I’d never filmed the Oracle before. Admittedly, even I was a little disconcerted at the image of myself with those glowing white eyes.

 _“She has joined him,”_ the Oracle rasped. _“I see him, a triumphant glow in his eyes. He believes she will lead him to victory. She believes he will give her the one she lusts after.”_

“Who are they?” Cat Noir whispered on the recording, almost to himself. My body shuddered on the screen, then went limp.

“What did you do?” Ladybug shrieked.

“I don’t know!” Cat Noir yelped.

My hand stirred, and when I opened my eyes, the Oracle had left my body.

“You cut Her off,” I said. “I’m sorry, I should have told you-- She stops if you ask a question in the middle of Her thing.”

“That was disturbing,” Ladybug said, taking the BugPhone back.

“I’m sorry,” I said again. “I can’t control Her. She comes whenever something happens that may change the future, usually when it’s something bad.”

“Who were you-- was _She_ talking about?” Cat Noir asked.

I shrugged. “Who knows? She didn’t give enough details for me to guess. At least, not at the ‘her’ She was talking about. Kind of a given that the ‘he’ is Hawk Moth.”

“So someone’s joined Hawk Moth?” asked Ladybug.

“Looks like it,” I replied. “But there’s no way she’ll be able to get through us. Besides,” I added, Lila’s ugly naked mole rat face appearing in my mind, “whoever it is, she has absolutely no idea what’s coming to her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHEEEEEE!! We're done with this!  
> Thank you so much for reading The Panda Princess! It will probably be only a short wait for the next book, but there may be some sort of hiatus in the middle because... you know, still working on it. But it won't be long to wait! Thank you so much for the support I've received on this work! Please keep an eye out for the next book, The Heart of the Jaguar, and make sure you suggest this series to all your Miraculer friends, and maybe even the ones who aren't Miraculous fans so we can convert them to our ways. (No, the Miraculous fandom is TOTALLY not a cult... wait, it actually isn't? WHAT IS MY LIFE?!?!?!?!?!) Thank you again for reading! Have fun and stay safe!

**Author's Note:**

> I discovered LoliRock before Miraculous, and I absolutely fell in love with it. This was when I was about twelve, so the idea of princesses from another planet was really appealing to me. After I discovered Miraculous, I knew I needed to make a crossover between the two worlds, mostly just because they were both French TV shows. As I thought about it, however, I realized there were a lot of similarities between the two worlds. They both center on magical jewelry, and they're both girl power stories. The key similarity, however, came at the end of LoliRock Season 2, when Praxina becomes the main villain of the nonexistent Season 3. There, she is seen with an army of-- wait for it-- EVIL BUTTERFLIES!!!! Of course, I thought about how in Timetagger, it is revealed that Gabriel is no longer Hawk Moth in the future. Most people assumed the new Hawk Moth would be Lila or Chloe or somebody else, but that's where the keystone for my crossover came about-- Praxina, who already controls an army of evil butterflies, would become the new Hawk Moth to tie the two worlds together. (Of course, Ashley ties the two worlds together, too... but I'm not telling you about that yet.)  
> Thank you so much for reading The Panda Princess! Have fun and stay safe!


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